Department for Transport

Bus Services: Franchises

Sandy Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to extend the provisions of the Bus Services Act 2017 in respect of franchising bus services to local transport authorities other than Combined Authorities.

George Freeman: The Bus Services Act 2017 provides mayoral combined authorities with automatic access to franchising powers. Other local authorities may franchise bus services with the consent of the Secretary of State. Guidance on what the Secretary of State will consider in deciding whether to franchise is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831690/bus-services-act-2017-franchising-scheme-guidance.pdf We have no plans to change these arrangements at present.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) volume of passenger data which will be transferred from Virgin and Stagecoach to new West Coast Partnership operator First/Trenitalia before the start of the new franchise in December 2019 and (b) effect of the level of data transferred on the quality of passenger service under that new franchise.

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the arrangements for the transfer of passenger data between rail franchises and (b) effect a shortfall in the transfer of data has on the quality of passenger service.

Chris Heaton-Harris: All incumbent and incoming franchisees are required to comply with the provisions in their respective Franchise Agreements. This includes the provisions relating to the use and transfer of data held by the incumbent. The incoming and outgoing franchisees must also comply with the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018. In the case of the West Coast Partnership mobilisation, the Department expects both operators to adhere to these requirements to enable a smooth transition for passengers in time for day one operations under First Trenitalia.

Rolling Stock

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the credit ratings of UK rolling stock companies (a) Porterbrook, (b) Angel Trains, (c) Eversholt Rail and (d) Rock Rail and the costs at which those companies can respectively secure finance.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department has not made an assessment of the credit rating of any of the rolling stock companies including Porterbrook, Angel Trains, Eversholt Rail or Rock Rail. It is a matter for the credit rating agencies to determine the ratings of such companies and for market to determine the cost of providing competitive financing.

Road Traffic Control: Kent

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect Operation Brock will have on congestion levels on the Kent (a) road network and (b) economy.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department for Transport has worked closely with the Kent Resilience Forum on developing traffic management plans, known as Operation Brock, to be used as a contingency in the event of severe disruption to travel via the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone and the Port of Dover. Operation Brock has been designed to ensure that the M20 motorway in Kent (the primary route to the Channel Tunnel and Port of Dover) will be kept open and traffic will continue to flow in both directions.From Monday 28 October, a contraflow will be in place so that HGVs heading for mainland Europe use the coastbound carriageway of the M20 between junctions 8 and 9. All other traffic will run on the London-bound carriageway between these junctions. These arrangements will ensure that the M20 will be able to hold HGVs should traffic disruption result from delays to cross Channel services.Operation Brock is intended as a replacement for Operation Stack during periods of severe and protracted disruption. Operation Stack involved closing junctions and carriageways on the M20 motorway to hold freight traffic in several locations. In contrast Operation Brock has been designed to allow traffic in Kent to keep flowing minimising congestion for the wider community, whilst providing the capacity to hold HGVs if needed.

Boeing 737: Safety

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent updates he has had from the Civil Aviation Authority on their assessment of the safety of the Boeing 737 Max airliners.

Paul Maynard: The Department for Transport engages regularly with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on all aviation safety issues, including the return to service of the Boeing 737 Max. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), is primarily responsible for approving the 737 Max for use in Europe. The CAA is working with EASA, as well as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing, so that it can continue to be satisfied with the investigation being undertaken as well as any design and operational changes that will be made. The CAA’s safety directive preventing 737 Max operations in UK airspace will remain in place until it is satisfied that the aircraft can return to service.

Transport: Sustainable Development

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to promote greener alternatives for (a) long-distance and (b) international transport.

George Freeman: Transport needs to undergo radical transformation to meet our legally binding carbon budgets and achieve net zero by 2050. The UK’s first Transport Decarbonisation Plan was announced on 15 October and will bring together a bold and ambitious programme of coordinated action needed to end the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050. It will build on our existing modal strategies, including Road to Zero, the Aviation Green Paper, the Clean Maritime Plan and our work with the Rail Decarbonisation Task Force and OLEV and is expected to be complete next year.

Roads: Sutton Coldfield

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he has allocated for the repair of roads in Sutton Coldfield in the last two years for which information is available.

George Freeman: Birmingham City Council, as local highway authority, is responsible for the maintenance of its local road network, which includes Sutton Coldfield. Birmingham City Council has a Highways Maintenance Private Finance Initiative project for the comprehensive upgrade and maintenance, over 25 years, of their highway network. The project commenced operation on 7 June 2010 and the Department is providing over £1.2 billion towards the £2.7 billion total cost.

European Aviation Safety Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost to the Civil Aviation Authority of taking on functions currently performed by the European Aviation Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Paul Maynard: The CAA spent £2.7 million on Brexit preparations in 2018/19 and expects to spend up to £1.6 million during 2019/20. It has recruited around 50 additional FTEs in preparation for Brexit. The UK is seeking continued close cooperative arrangements with the EU on aviation safety as part of an ambitious and comprehensive future relationship after exit. This will help minimise regulatory burdens for UK and EU industry and maintain safety standards across Europe.

Railways: Franchises

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the most recent contractual arrangements are that his Department has agreed with the Operator of Last Resort and (a) SNC Lavalin, (b) EY and (c) Arup.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Secretary of State has a legal duty under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 to maintain continuity of passenger rail services, in the event that a franchise terminates and is not immediately replaced. To discharge this duty, the Department maintains an ‘Operator of Last Resort’ (OLR) function. To ensure the Department has the specialist skills and expertise it needs to carry out its duty under Section 30, it holds Technical and Financial Advisor contracts with Arup/SNC Lavalin and EY. These contracts are operated on a flexible basis allowing the Department to increase volumes of specialist staff on short notice in response to emerging demands. The support provided can include assisting the Department in conducting investigations of rail franchises, contingency planning, and if necessary mobilising to facilitate the OLR stepping in and running services.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons his Department instructed West Coast Partnership Operator First Trenitalia to submit a Section 17 application to the Office for Rail and Road on 4 October 2019 rather than to Network Rail.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Submission of Section 17 applications are a matter for ORR and FTI, and not the Department. FTI have followed standard industry processes for this application and the Department has not instructed FTI to work outside these processes.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of Network Rail’s ability to (a) process the First Trenitalia West Coast Track Access Agreement and (b) manage potential conflicts with other train operators.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The assessment of operators’ applications to enter into Track Access Agreements to run trains on the national network is a core Network Rail function. In doing so they routinely assess any potential conflicts with other operators. The ORR, as regulator, is responsible for ensuring these duties are discharged in accordance with industry processes.

Railways: Isle of Wight

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when work will be completed on a new passing loop at Brading on the Isle of Wight; and what the timescale is for introducing a half-hourly service on that railway line.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Work to construct a passing loop at Brading is due to take place during the Winter in 2020, and the half-hourly train service on the Island Line is due to be introduced at the May 2021 timetable change date.

Travel Cards: Isle of Wight

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a reduced rate travel card for people living on the Isle of Wight to improve connectivity with Portsmouth.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Local concessionary fares schemes are a matter for the local authority to consider and fund, as appropriate, in balance with local priorities. South Western Railway currently offer residents of the Isle of Wight a 40% discount on Island Line trains Single and Day Return fares with an Island Line Residents Card.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of Ofgem's Targeted Charging Review proposals on (a) costs to the UK steel sector, (b) steel making capability, (c) the manufacturing sector and (c) the local economy of steel producing areas.

Nadhim Zahawi: Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review is seeking to ensure all parties connected to the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs. This is consistent with Government’s views on the importance of an energy system that discourages free riding and ensures a fair distribution of costs, with solutions rewarded where they contribute to reduced system costs. Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator, and decisions on its review are for it to make. The analysis published by Ofgem is available at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/charging/targeted-charging-review-significant-code-review, Ofgem expects total consumer costs to reduce as a result of its proposals. Ofgem has yet to take its final decisions on the review - it is currently considering the views and evidence provided in response to its most recent consultation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy Supply

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will write to her Cabinet colleagues to (a) inform them that her Department is adopting energy suppliers that solely use renewable energy under the Crown Commercial Service energy frameworks for the supply of gas, electricity and liquid fuels and (b) encourage them to adopt similar policies for their Departments.

Kwasi  Kwarteng: The Department is currently working with the Government Property Agency and Office of Government Property to contribute to a sustainable estates strategy for all Government Departments. The Office of Government Property has oversight of the government estates strategy, and BEIS colleagues will be contributing to the development of their proposals for Spending Review 2020.

Professions: Qualifications

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many mutual recognition agreements for professional qualifications (a) the UK has signed with EU member states and (b) plans to sign by 31 October 2019.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 21 October 2019



The Government has encouraged UK and EU regulators to sign mutual recognition agreements that provide routes for recognition for qualifications of UK and EU professionals in the event of leaving the EU without a deal. This will ensure UK professionals are able to practise in other parties’ jurisdictions.

Business: Regulation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of UK regulators taking on regulatory functions currently carried out by EU regulatory bodies when the UK leaves the EU.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 21 October 2019



Government’s priority is to have effective regulatory systems. Where an EU regulatory function is repatriated then in most cases this will be undertaken by an existing regulatory body. The National Audit Office considers that there are 90 regulators operating in the UK. ‘Managing Public Money’ sets out when fees and charges may be levied by a public body for a function, or whether a function can be Exchequer-funded. Where legislation is required to repatriate functions, further information may be found in the relevant impact assessment or explanatory memorandum.

Thomas Cook: Insolvency

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make new capital grant funding available to businesses in Peterborough to generate jobs after the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 21 October 2019



The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook aims to ensure support for employees and for the local economies most affected by the liquidation. The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees. It will also provide advice and funding for businesses affected in the supply chain.

Thomas Cook: Insolvency

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will take steps to  help ensure that the site of the former Thomas Cook headquarters in Peterborough is used to generate future employment.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 21 October 2019



Local partners, including Opportunity Peterborough and Peterborough City Council, are exploring how best to create future employment at the former Peterborough HQ site and secure future investment into the City, working with the Thomas Cook Trust Fund and local and national property agents.

Biofuels: Subsidies

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to (a) remove biomass subsidies and (b) increase support more sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Kwasi  Kwarteng: Holding answer received on 21 October 2019



Sustainable biomass is currently eligible for support under the Contract for Difference (CFD), the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). We have announced that all support for coal to biomass conversions will end in 2027. The consultation on ‘Renewable Heat Incentive: biomass combustion in urban areas’ included the question of excluding new biomass installations in urban areas on the gas grid. A government response will be published in due course. The RHI has funding committed until March 2021 and any further funding will be a matter for future budget-related decisions. Sustainable biomass remains an important part of a balanced energy mix, along with other renewables such as wind or solar.

Rain Forests: Amazonia

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290776 on Rain Forests: Amazonia, what assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the level of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

Kwasi  Kwarteng: The UK is concerned by data that suggests a surge in forest fires in the Amazon rainforest in 2019. Whilst the data is complex there is evidence that indicates this surge in fires follows months of accelerated deforestation. In recent years we have seen some evidence that climate change is making forest fires more frequent and severe in Amazon countries and elsewhere. Unlike previous years when El Niño caused severe droughts, climatic conditions were probably not a significant factor this year’s increase in fires.Amazon countries are established key partners for the UK in our collective efforts to promote sustainable growth, tackle deforestation and mitigate climate change. As stated in my response on 2 October 2019, the UK supports a number initiatives, as part of multilateral climate funds and the UK’s bilateral relationship with several Amazon countries, that aim to: i) improve the capacity of governments to reduce deforestation; ii) incentivise forest protection through results based payments; iii) enable businesses and communities to grow rural economies sustainably whilst protecting standing forests.These initiatives continuously monitor and implement mitigation strategies for risks, such as increasing deforestation, in the course of their ongoing activities.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which public appointments she is responsible for.

Nadhim Zahawi: The public appointments that the Department is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019:https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department has taken to measure the effectiveness of the disbursement of public money by local enterprise partnerships.

Nadhim Zahawi: In the July 2018 Review, Strengthened LEPs, Government bolstered the rules that each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) must follow to ensure greater transparency on how public money is spent. We continue to review the effectiveness of the assurance and transparency model that we have in place for LEPs. The National Local Growth Assurance Framework published in January 2019 provides guidance to LEPs on how places should appraise, monitor and evaluate schemes to achieve value for money, based on HM Treasury Green Book standards. Government also receives quarterly performance data from LEPs through the Framework.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will commission a review of the value for money provided by local enterprise partnerships.

Nadhim Zahawi: In the July 2018 Review, Strengthened LEPs, Government bolstered the rules that each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) must follow to ensure greater transparency on how public money is spent. We continue to review the effectiveness of the assurance and transparency model that we have in place for LEPs. The National Local Growth Assurance Framework published in January 2019 provides guidance to LEPs on how places should appraise, monitor and evaluate schemes to achieve value for money, based on HM Treasury Green Book standards. Government also receives quarterly performance data from LEPs through the Framework.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Solent

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) equity of Solent local enterprise partnership's grant criteria in relation to the Southsea sea defence scheme.

Nadhim Zahawi: The National Local Growth Assurance Framework is published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This Framework sets out Government’s guidance on the assurance requirements for local growth funding as well as guidance for LEPs on carrying out value for money assessments on the funding it provides. The Solent LEP’s Local Assurance Framework is published on its website and sets out how the LEP operates, including processes for decision-making, project approval and monitoring. In accordance with the Framework minutes of both LEP Board and the Funding, Finance and Performance Management Group meetings are publicly available on the LEP website.LEPs are also required to participate in relevant Local Authority scrutiny arrangements to guarantee the effective and appropriate scrutiny of their investment decisions, this is in addition to their internal scrutiny and audit arrangements.

Electricity Generation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 140 on Electricity Generation, when she plans to publish that forthcoming White Paper.

Kwasi  Kwarteng: We intend to publish an Energy White Paper in the first three months of 2020.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Kashmir: Politics and Government

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the restoration of the autonomy of Kashmir and Jammu; and what pressure the Government will apply to encourage an end to the violation of human rights in that region.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We are monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely and are in regular contact with the Governments of both India and Pakistan. Regarding representations to India specifically, the Prime Minister has spoken to Prime Minister Modi about the situation, underlining the importance of maintaining dialogue. The Foreign Secretary has raised his concerns about the situation with the Indian Minister for External Affairs Dr Jaishankar. The Minister for the Commonwealth, UN and South Asia has also had regular engagement with the Indian High Commissioner, and discussed Kashmir with the Indian Minister of Minority Affairs during his visit to New Delhi this month.We recognise that there are human rights concerns in both India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. We encourage all states to ensure domestic laws are in line with international standards. Any allegation of human rights abuse is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly, transparently and independently.The Government’s longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or act as mediator. We encourage India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue and find lasting, diplomatic solutions to maintain regional stability.

Hong Kong: Demonstrations

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Hong Kong counterparts on the use of excessive police force against protesters.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We remain seriously concerned by the situation in Hong Kong and recent violent clashes between protesters and the police. It is essential that protests are conducted peacefully and within the law, and that the response of the authorities is proportionate. On 9 August, the Foreign Secretary spoke at length to the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, about the police response to recent protests, and the UK Consul-General in Hong Kong is in regular contact with the authorities, including on this issue. We have made clear our view that there must be a robust, credible and independent investigation into events in Hong Kong. An inquiry is an important step in healing divisions and rebuilding trust that will support the process of dialogue and resolution.

Climate Change Convention: Glasgow

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of accommodation in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has assessed the availability of accommodation for the 26th Conference of the Parties within Glasgow and a one hour radius of Glasgow. We are confident that sufficient accommodation is available.

Climate Change Convention: Glasgow

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using cruise liners to provide accommodation for attendees at 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made an assessment of the potential merits of using cruise liners. Our expectation is that there will be sufficient accommodation within Glasgow and the surrounding region for attendees.

Climate Change Convention: Glasgow

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what executive authority the President of the 26th Conference of the Parties, UN Climate Conference will have over staff within the his Department that are working on climate diplomacy.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The British Government are aware of the need for strong and coordinated senior ministerial governance on COP26. The Prime Minister will chair a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change attended by the Foreign Secretary. The COP President will report to the Prime Minister and will be based in the Cabinet Office, working closely with the newly established COP unit. We anticipate appointments being made to this unit from across Whitehall Departments.

Climate Change Convention: Glasgow

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of energy and climate change policy staffing resources his Department requires to host the COP26 UN Climate Conference in 2020.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: ​COP26 will require a whole-of-government effort, including strong diplomatic engagement. Both UK-based and locally-engaged staff across the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's network will continue to hold climate change diplomacy as a personal priority, and it will remain a Priority in our Embassies and High Commissions. We will be increasing our network of climate attaches.

Ahmed Mansoor

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to make representations to his Emirati counterpart on (a) recent reports that Ahmed Mansoor has been tortured in al-Sadr prison and (b) Ahmed Mansoor's right to access to healthcare during his hunger strike under UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Officials have previously raised the case of Ahmed Mansoor with senior Emirati officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The UK urges all countries to comply with their human rights obligations and our close relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss important issues such as human rights. Where the UK has cause for concern, we raise these concerns at official and Ministerial level.​

Syria: Detainees

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it her policy to return British nationals detained in Syria to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The British Government is clear that those individuals who have fought for, or supported Daesh, whatever their nationality, should face justice and accountability through prosecution in the most appropriate jurisdiction. That will often be in the region where their alleged offences have been committed. The Government takes these responsibilities extremely seriously which is why, working closely with international partners, we are pursuing all efforts to address this threat and establish pathways for effective prosecution.

Syria: Detainees

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of level of risk to UK nationals detained in Syria and sent for trial in Iraq of (a) torture and (b) the death penalty; if he will make it her policy to oppose the transfer of any UK detainees from Syria to Iraq for trial; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​Any decision in relation to the continued detention, transfer or prosecution of detainees is ultimately a matter for authorities under whose jurisdiction the individuals are detained. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We have human rights concerns relating to the trials in Iraq's domestic courts of Iraqi nationals suspected of support for Daesh: we regularly raise these concerns, including our opposition to the death penalty, with the Iraqi authorities.

Syria: British Nationals Abroad

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to repatriate British children trapped in north east Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention, subject to national security concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, a request can be made on their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.

Syria: British Nationals Abroad

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions has he had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the repatriation of British children trapped in north east Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Foreign Secretary has discussed the repatriation of British children from north east Syria with Cabinet ministers including the Home Secretary, and these discussions are ongoing. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention, subject to national security concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.

China: Prisoners

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question HL17757 on China: Prisoners, if he will publish the evidence relating to organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China provided to his Department by (a) the World Health Organisation and (b) other international organisations.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations act independently of the British Government, and as such we cannot disclose, nor oblige them to disclose, the details of their work. Our most recent consultation with the WHO relating to organ harvesting in China took place on 15 May.We consult and share assessments with a wide range of human rights and international organisations on the basis of confidentiality. In order to maintain working relationships with these organisations, we do not publish details of discussions between them and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.​

Burma: Genocide

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the evidence available for the purpose of taking a case to the International Court of Justice on the ground that the situation in Burma represents a violation of the UN genocide convention.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: In March 2018, in order to establish the facts around the actions of the Myanmar military, we co-sponsored a resolution that led to the establishment of an independent, international Fact Finding Mission (FFM). During its mandate, the FFM documented atrocities in Myanmar. The FFM was clear that what transpired in Myanmar amounted to ethnic cleansing and could be genocide.We agree that any judgment on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for competent courts, after consideration of all the evidence, through a credible judicial process. We are aware that The Gambia is planning on bringing a case at the ICJ on behalf of the OIC. The British Government has not undertaken its own assessment of the evidence available to the ICJ.

Syria: British Nationals Abroad

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development on the repatriation of British children from north east Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​The Foreign Secretary has discussed the repatriation of British children from north east Syria with Cabinet ministers including the Secretary of State for International Development, and these discussions are ongoing. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention, subject to national security concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will discuss human rights concerns with his Bahraini counterpart during the joint Working Group between Bahrain and the UK on 17 October 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: During the twelfth UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group of 17 October, I discussed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain a wide range of areas of bilateral co-operation, including economic growth, security, and human rights.

Malaysia: Capital Punishment

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Malaysian counterpart on the (a) consistency with international human rights laws and conventions and (b) application to people on death row of alternative sentences to the mandatory death penalty in that country.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We have been supporting the Malaysian Government's ambitions to ratify UN instruments on human rights, reform security legislation and abolish the death penalty. The former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt discussed our support for human rights reforms in Malaysia, including on the death penalty with his counterpart Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah during his visit to Kuala Lumpur 3-4 January.We welcomed the Malaysian Government's announcement, in October 2018, of its plan to abolish the death penalty. The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt Hon Mark Field MP, urged early progress during his visit to Malaysia that month.The abolition bill has been postponed until the next sitting of the Malaysian Parliament. We have been using every opportunity to encourage Malaysia to pass it as soon as possible.It is a longstanding policy of the British Government to oppose the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. The Malaysian Government is fully aware of our position and we continue to raise our objection to capital punishment at the highest levels.

Syria: Human Rights

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart to ensure that the Turkish authorities respect international humanitarian law in northern Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​We are seriously concerned about reports of violations of International Humanitarian Law during the military offensive by Turkish forces and their Syrian allies. We expect all parties to respect their obligations towards civilians and under International Humanitarian Law. The Foreign Secretary conveyed this message to the Turkish Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on 10 October and the Prime Minister made this clear to President Erdogan on 20 October.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will submit a request to the UN Security General to expand the scope of the UN Board of Inquiry for Syria beyond north west Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​Having repeatedly called for scrutiny into the multiple attacks on UN-supported or deconflicted civilian infrastructure in north west Syria, we have welcomed the establishment of the UN Board of Inquiry. Since the same issue does not apply elsewhere in the country, we will not be calling for the UN Secretary General to expand the scope of the Board of Inquiry beyond north west Syria. The UN’s International Commission of Inquiry on Syria continues to have the mandate to investigate violations of international human rights law throughout the country.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he made to (a) parties to the conflict in north east Syria and (b) countries that have borders with Syria on keeping cross-border points (i) open and (ii) accessible to humanitarian aid (A) workers and (B) supplies.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​We joined EU partners in a statement urging all parties to ensure the protection of civilians and unhindered, safe and sustainable humanitarian access throughout Syria including for humanitarian aid workers and supplies. We have also repeatedly called on all parties to uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. We are in close contact with the authorities in Turkey and in Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on the situation in north-east Syria including on the need for humanitarian access. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is the Government's policy to support the renewal of UN Security Council Resolution 2165.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​The UK is committed to the renewal of Resolution 2165, which allows much needed aid to be delivered cross-border into Syria. British officials will soon begin discussions with likeminded countries on the UN Security Council on the renewal, and will also be consulting international non-governmental organisations.

Syria: Refugees

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey are not repatriated to Syria against their will.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​We have been clear in our public statements and in our engagement with Turkey and Syria's other neighbours, that any return of refugees to Syria must be voluntary and in line with international law. We do not support forced returns and would not support returns to areas that have not yet been declared safe by the UN.

Syria: Human Rights

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​The UK is committed to highlighting the appalling violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Syria and to seeing those responsible for the most serious crimes held to account in the most appropriate jurisdiction. We continue to support the UN Commission of Inquiry's investigations into human rights violations and abuses in Syria and the work of the UN International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) which is gathering evidence for the prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law in Syria. The UK has contributed over £9 million since 2012 in support of Syrian and international efforts to gather evidence and assist victims of human rights abuses and violations, including £950,000 to the IIIM.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, which public appointments he is responsible for.

Michael Ellis: The public appointments that the department is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019: https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf

Department of Health and Social Care

Diabetes

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research conducted by 38 degrees showing that 571 people in Carshalton and Wallington have type 1 diabetes and rely on daily insulin, what assessment his Department has made of the distribution and number of diabetes sufferers in the UK; and what steps his department has taken to secure undisrupted supply of insulin across the UK in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Jo Churchill: The number of people registered with diabetes at a general practitioner (GP) practice in 2017-18 by clinical commissioning group and diabetes type in England can be found in the attached table.The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should help to ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products, including insulin, once we have left the EU.As part of our EU exit preparations, we are implementing a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply, which consists of stockpiling where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential shortages.All three suppliers of insulin have publicly stated that they have significantly increased their United Kingdom stockpiles, and have met the Government request that they hold at least six weeks’ worth of extra stock in addition to their usual operational stocks.



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Hospitals: Admissions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the 10 most frequent causes of admission to an NHS hospital; were in the most recent 12 month period for and how many people were admitted for each of those causes, in that time period which data is available.

Edward Argar: This information is not collected in the format requested.NHS Digital published its Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity for 2018-19 on 19 September 2019.Data are set out in the following table.Patient admission - sub-chapter descriptionNumber of Finished Admissions EpisodesComplications of labour and delivery1,056,809Other diseases of intestines646,953Arthropathies609,032Symptoms and signs involving the digestive system and abdomen554,882Health services in circumstances related to reproduction539,391Disorders of lens (including cataracts)456,184Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory/respiratory system440,918Diseases of oesophagus, stomach and duodenum430,757In situ and benign neoplasms and others of uncertainty430,698Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue387,191 Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity/2018-19

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for cervical screening test results.

Jo Churchill: The Government recognises that it is important that women are informed about their cervical screening results as soon as possible and that they are aware when they receive their results that they are independent of any onward referral for further investigative tests if needed.The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is introducing testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) as the primary test carried out on cervical screening samples and this is due to be implemented across England by 2020. As a result of the move to HPV primary screening, cervical screening providers have experienced difficulties in meeting the 14-day TAT target. This is due to the HPV primary screening requiring less cytologists to carry out testing and staff anticipating this reduction before the full roll-out has been implemented and reduced workload seen.A number of initiatives have been introduced across the country to reduce waiting times for cervical screening test results. These include: laboratories offering overtime for staff; utilising existing HPV pilot sites to create additional cytology capacity for other laboratories; and allowing the conversion of existing service providers to HPV primary screening ahead of full roll-out nationally.In addition to this, Professor Richards’ review of national adult screening programmes recommended that NHS England should ensure that all screening results are given to patients in the standard timeframes. Professor Richards also acknowledged that the difficulties experienced in cervical screening has been due to the change in testing and should revert once the transition has been completed given close monitoring.

Hepatitis: Diagnosis

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve detection rates of (a) hepatitis B and (b) hepatitis C.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England’s (PHE’s) multi-agency National Strategic Group on Viral Hepatitis is committed to working towards the World Health Organization goal to eliminate viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030.NHS England routinely screen pregnant women for hepatitis B and have also implemented opt-out blood-borne virus testing across prisons. This can be viewed at the following links:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/infectious-diseases-in-pregnancy-screening-clinical-guidance#idps-programme-guidancehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-testing-rates-for-blood-borne-viruses-in-prisons-and-other-secure-settingsThe National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance on increasing testing available treatment for hepatitis B and C at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph43 PHE has published evidence reviews, co-produced educational modules, developed health promotional materials on hepatitis B and C infection and launched a hepatitis C patient re-engagement exercise at the following links:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-interventions-for-case-finding-and-linkage-to-carehttps://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?popup=0&id=175https://publichealthengland-immunisati.app.box.com/s/iptxtlziu57evyejw8zgvhimh0pjwa05https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-patient-re-engagement-exerciseIn 2019, NHS England made additional resources available to increase hepatitis C case finding and treatment which include: peer to peer support programmes and an incentivised payment model to engage and encourage testing people in high risks groups, and intensive test and treat programmes in prisons settings.

General Practitioners: Rural Areas

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on recruiting additional GPs in rural locations.

Jo Churchill: The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, made a clear commitment to the future of general practice, with primary and community care set to receive at least £4.5 billion more a year by 2023/24, in real terms. This was followed by the five-year general practitioner (GP) contract, which will provide greater financial security and certainty for practices to plan ahead and will see billions of extra investment for improved access, expanded services at local practices, the development of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and longer appointments for patients who need them.NHS England and Health Education England are working together with the profession to increase the GP workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why GPs are leaving the profession and encourage GPs to return to practice. The forthcoming People Plan will set out a broader strategy for a sustainable general practice workforce and how we will meet the commitment to the additional doctors working in general practice through both recruitment and retention programmes. Alongside our commitment to grow the GP workforce, the GP contract will see funding towards up to 20,000 extra staff working in PCNs by 2023/24.In 2018, a record 3,473 doctors accepted a place on GP specialty training. Additionally, NHS England’s International GP Recruitment programme is bringing suitably qualified doctors from overseas to work in English general practice.Additional incentives are available to attract GP trainees into previously hard-to-recruit areas, including rural communities. The Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme, a £20,000 one off payment, is attracting GP trainees to parts of the country where there have been consistent shortages of GP trainees. Over 500 trainees entered TERs in 2016-18 and a further 276 places are available this year.We have a broad offer to support GPs to remain in the National Health Service including the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the GP Health Service and the Releasing Time for Care Programme.It is encouraging to see as of June 2019, over 250 more doctors, and over 800 more nurses and other staff with direct patient care responsibilities working in general practice compared to June 2018.

General Practitioners: Surrey

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to maintain the level of out-of-hours GP cover in Surrey.

Jo Churchill: Evening and weekend general practice appointments are routinely available across the country to enable patients to find appointments at a time convenient to them, with millions of patients having already benefitted from this.Care UK is the provider for both the Out of Hours (OOH) and the 111 service for Surrey. Since April 2019 NHS North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has been the lead commissioner for OOH general practitioner (GP) services for North West Surrey, Surrey Downs, Guildford and Waverley and East Surrey CCGs.There are eight Primary Care Centres in Surrey that are involved in the provision of OOH services.The Woking Out of Hours primary care centre provides OOH services on Monday-Friday 19:00-23:59 and 08:00-23:59 at weekends and bank/public holidays. This service has not changed since the new contract began at the end of March 2019. There are no plans to change the current contracted hours of opening or operation for Woking.North West Surrey CCG has advised that the following steps have been put in place to maintain the level of OOH GP cover in Surrey:- Direct booking being made available for extended access hubs through 111;- Ongoing recruitment/pro-active skill mix, including GPs, advanced nurse practitioners, urgent care practitioners, and dental and mental health nurses;- The NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service, allowing patients to be referred to pharmacists for minor ailments;- Pharmacists able to issue prescriptions and repeat prescriptions out of hours;- Collaborative working with the GP federation and primary care networks; and- Looking at activity versus productivity going into winter and whether extra resources will be needed. NHS England is undertaking a national review of access to general practice services, to improve patient access and reduce unwarranted variation in experience. The NHS Long Term Plan made a clear commitment to the future of general practice, with primary and community care set to receive at least £4.5 billion more a year by 2023/24 in real terms. This was followed by the five-year GP contract framework, which will provide greater financial security and certainty for practices to plan ahead.

Hospitals: York

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure hospital capacity is increased in line with population growth in the York area.

Edward Argar: As part of their planning process, sustainability and transformation partnerships /integrated care systems need to assess changing needs, additional activity and the new services that are envisaged for the National Health Service in future plans. The level of hospital capacity required in line with population growth would be a part of the modelling of service demand.

NHS: Directors

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to undertake a review the exclusion of NHS non-executive directors in protections under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government has no plans for a review of any exclusions in protections afforded by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.The Government supports the right of staff working in the National Health Service to raise concerns and expects all NHS organisations to support staff that wish to do so. We expect all NHS organisations to have in place whistleblowing policies, which are consistent with the protections afforded by the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, and which follow best practice.

General Practitioners: Pharmacy

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled, Community pharmacy drug reimbursement reform, published in July 2019, what steps he is taking to undertake an impact assessment of the possible effect of those reforms on the practices of dispensing GPs.

Jo Churchill: The Department’s consultation on changes to the reimbursement of pharmacy contractors has now closed and responses are being analysed. The impact assessment that was published alongside the consultation document will be updated with information provided by respondents to the consultation which includes dispensing doctors and bodies representing them.

General Practitioners: Pharmacy

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to consult representatives of dispensing GP practices on the proposals in his consultation on community pharmacy drug reimbursement reform.

Jo Churchill: The Department has informed all relevant stakeholder representative bodies, including the British Medical Association and the Dispensing Doctors’ Association, about the consultation and has offered meetings to explain the proposals and answer any questions. Some representative bodies have taken up this offer. I will also be meeting the Dispensing Doctors’ Association shortly to further discuss the proposals.

Diabetes: Mental Health Services

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health provision for diabetes patients.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increasing the provision of mental health support for all patients who require it. The importance of addressing the mental health needs of people with diabetes is recognised and further work is underway to consider the most effective routes for supporting this as part of the future development of services. On 21 March 2018, NHS England and NHS Improvement, along with the National Collaboration Institute for Mental Health, published ‘The Improving Access to Psychotherapy Therapy (IAPT) Pathway for People with Long-term Physical Health Conditions and Medically Unexplained Symptoms’. The guidance outlines the IAPT pathway, and accompanying benchmarks, to support the national expansion of IAPT services for adults with long term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms. NHS England is also working to improve care for those with type 1 diabetes and eating disorders (often referred to as diabulimia) by supporting two pilots to test, trial and evaluate the effects of integrated diabetes and mental health pathways for the identification, assessment and treatment of diabulimia. One pilot is in London and the other in the South region. In recognition of the interdependencies between diabetes and mental health, a project working group has been established between NHS England and Diabetes UK to specifically consider the distinct mental health needs of patients with diabetes at all stages in their care pathway.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the (i) Academy of Royal Colleges, (ii) Royal College of General Practitioners and (c) Royal College of Midwives on those organisations' call for the NHS overseas visitors charging regime to be suspended pending an independent review of its impact on individual and public health; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: Neither the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care nor the Ministers in the Department have had meetings with the Academy of Royal Colleges or the Royal College of General Practitioners regarding their call for the suspension of the National Health Service overseas visitors charging regime. On 24 June 2019, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention (Jackie Doyle-Price MP) met with a representative of the Royal College of Midwives and others to discuss the issue of charging overseas visitors for maternity care.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 246493 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, whether the review document shared with Deighton Pierce Glynn setting out the findings of his Department’s December 2017 review of the functioning of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 was shared with any other party during the 2018 judicial review of that policy.

Edward Argar: The Department conducted a review into the impact of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, with particular regard to any impact on vulnerable groups and those with protected characteristics. The Department did not produce or publish a formal Review outcomes document. The advice that ministers received regarding the findings of the review, and the recommended next steps, was provided to the High Court, Deighton Pierce Glynn and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in the summer of 2018 as part of judicial review proceedings.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2019 to Question 236341, Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what the total sum was that NHS trusts (a) charged to and (b) recovered from patients not covered by the EHIC scheme under the NHS overseas visitors charging regime in (i) England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales in each financial year from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

Edward Argar: The following table shows all identified and received directly chargeable income, excluding EHIC, S1, S2 and Immigration Health Surcharge income in each year from 2015/16, for England: YearInvoiced incomePayments received2015/16£68,481£28,8542016/17£81,402£29,6022017/18£86,836£29,0862018/19£91,252£34,894  Notes:1. Figures are in £000s. 2. Invoiced income is invoices raised in year. 3. Payments received are in year but may not relate to invoices raised in year.Figures for 2019/20 are not yet available. Figures for Scotland and Wales are a matter for the devolved administrations.

Agomelatine

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of the supply of Agomelatine in the event that the UK leaves the EU on 31 October 2019 without a deal.

Edward Argar: The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products, including those for use in the treatment of depression, once we have left the EU.The Department, as part of our EU exit preparations, is implementing a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply, which consists of stockpiling where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential shortages. Further details can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plansThere is no evidence of any supply shortages being related to leaving the European Union. We are aware that one supplier of generic agomelatine 25mg tablets discontinued supplies in July 2019. However, we can confirm that supplies of agomelatine 25mg tablets are currently available from several other suppliers in volumes that are sufficient to meet normal United Kingdom demand. All patients who require agomelatine should be able to obtain a supply from their pharmacy.

Social Prescribing: Children and Young People

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children and teenagers that have benefitted from social prescribing services since July 2018.

Jo Churchill: No estimate is available.On 23 October 2019, the Government launched a new independent organisation: the National Academy for Social Prescribing, which is set to receive £5 million in grant funding from April next year to support its work. Since its development was announced in November 2018, the Department and NHS England have been working with a broad range of partners both in and out of Government to build consensus on the form and focus of the organisation in order that it deliver the greatest impact. The Academy will be working to build and promote the evidence base for social prescribing and sharing best practice; developing training and accreditation across sectors; exploring new models and sources of funding; and, helping to broker relationships between sectors.In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement committed to deliver at least £4.5 billion of new investment in primary medical and community health services over the next five years. Part of this investment will support the recruitment of over 1,000 trained social prescribing link workers in place by the end of 2020/21, rising further by 2023/24, with the aim that over 900,000 people are able to be referred to social prescribing schemes by then.NHS England and NHS Improvement is working to get all social prescribing services, local commissioners and providers involved in measuring the impact of social prescribing locally. It has developed a Common Outcomes Framework (COF) for social prescribing which will enable social prescribing connector schemes across the country to capture core impact data. This will help to create a consistent evidence base; support the business case; and, build a national picture of the impact of social prescribing. The outcomes cover three key areas: the impact on the person; the impact on community groups; and the impact on the health and care system. NHS England and NHS Improvement will be working with stakeholders in a phased approach over the next two years to embed the use of the measures in the COF for the evaluation of social prescribing schemes.The COF can be found via the following link:www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/social-prescribing-community-based-support-summary-guide.pdfOn 23 October 2019, the Government launched a new independent organisation: The National Academy for Social Prescribing, which is set to receive £5 million in grant funding from April next year to support its work. Since its development was announced in November 2018, the Department and NHS England have been working with a broad range of partners both in and out of Government to build consensus on the form and focus of the organisation in order that it deliver the greatest impact. The Academy will be working to build and promote the evidence base for social prescribing and sharing best practice; developing training and accreditation across sectors; exploring new models and sources of funding; and, helping to broker relationships between sectors.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the taxpayer of the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency taking on regulatory functions carried out by EU regulatory bodies when the UK leaves the EU.

Ms Nadine Dorries: As a Government trading fund, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is funded mostly by income from fee-charging activities. In 2018/19 income from fee-generating activities was £124.0 million and income from the sponsoring the Department was £34.6 million. The Agency’s income from trading activities has reduced compared to previous years as a result of the United Kingdom preparations to exit the European Union, which has led to a reduction in revenue from centralised (European Medical Agency-managed) as well as decentralised (EU-member states led) licence applications.In addition, the MHRA is incurring costs to prepare for ‘no deal’ and transition to a stand-alone regulator. The Department has provided support via transitional funding (£6 million in 2018/19 and a further commitment of £11 million in 2019/20) and £1.6 million targeted ‘no deal’ funding towards decoupling the MHRA IT Customer Portal.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health (a) referrals and (b) treatment.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who has a mental health need is able to access timely treatment based on their clinical need.We have made ambitious commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan to make mental health services available to an extra 380,000 adults and 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 by 2023/24.The NHS Long Term Plan commits the National Health Service to test and roll out comprehensive waiting time standards for adults and children over the next decade. This builds on the already established waiting time standards for children and young people’s eating disorder services, early intervention for psychosis that covers all ages and adult improving access to psychological therapies services which are all being met or on track for delivery by 2020/21 in line with previous commitments.Specific waiting times targets for emergency mental health services will take effect from 2020.The ongoing NHS clinical review of standards has reported its interim findings which set out a number of proposed future waiting time standards for testing in mental health. These include:- assessment within 24 hours for urgent community referrals;- seen by liaison psychiatry in accident and emergency within 1 hour from referral;- four week waiting times for children and young people to access specialist mental health services; and- four week waiting times for adults to community mental health teams.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with members of the UK national screening committee on amending NHS guidelines to allow cervical smear test samples from under 25s to be examined if a GP requests an examination.

Jo Churchill: A cervical smear may not be the most appropriate test for patients presenting with symptoms. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) encourages all women who have concerns about their health or who present with symptoms to contact their general practitioner (GP), who will then decide on the most appropriate next steps and diagnostic tests.There have been no discussions with members of the UK NSC in amending National Health Service guidelines to allow cervical smear test samples from under 25s to be examined if a general practitioner requests an examination.

Autism: Diagnosis

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) referral to a specialist for autism diagnosis and (b) an initial assessment for autism and autism spectrum disorders.

Caroline Dinenage: No one should have to face long waits for an autism assessment. We expect services to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard which recommends that the length of time between referral and a first appointment to start an assessment should be no more than three months. We are determined to drive up performance nationally. We will use data on autism diagnosis waiting times, available for the first time later this year, to hold local areas to account where waiting times exceed the NICE standard. Whilst a diagnosis of autism should happen as soon as possible, it is important to recognise that formulating a diagnosis is often complex and can involve different professionals and agencies.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for medical cannabis have been issued on the NHS since the rescheduling of cannabis-based products.

Jo Churchill: Cannabis-based products for medicinal use were rescheduled on 1 November 2018 to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council’s ‘Specialist Register’ to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use, where clinically appropriate and in the best interest of patients.NHS England and NHS Improvement is using extant systems to monitor use of the newly rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary care. NHS England’s and NHS Improvement’s Controlled Drug Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the National Health Service and independent sector.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for medical cannabis were issued on the NHS from November 2017 to November 2018.

Jo Churchill: NHS England and Improvement is using extant systems to monitor use of the newly rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary care. NHS England’s and NHS Improvement’s Controlled Drug Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the NHS and independent sector.The NHS Business Services Authority is only able to provide information on prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines that have been prescribed and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. It does not hold information on prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines which have been issued but not fulfilled.The following table shows the number of items for Nabilone and Sativex (licensed cannabis-based medicines) and unlicensed cannabis-based medicines that were prescribed on an National Health Service prescription, dispensed in the community and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement between November 2017 and November 2018.MonthLicensed cannabis-based medicinesUnlicensed cannabis-based medicinesNabiloneSativexNovember 2017441740December 2017582020January 2018541710February 2018441580March 2018471820April 2018481450May 2018451830June 2018421570July 2018481702August 2018541610September 2018451721October 2018501640November 2018461752Total6252,2145 Unlike NHS primary care where all dispensed prescriptions are processed centrally for payment, this is not the case for secondary care. This information is collected by a third party and not routinely published.

Obesity: Children

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of children under five years old who are obese.

Jo Churchill: The National Child Measurement Programme measures the heights and weights of children in Reception (four to five-year olds) in England.The data for the 2018/19 school year showed that 9.7% (57,869) of children in Reception were obese. This is based on 95% (597,812) of children in Reception eligible for measurement. These data are available to view at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2018-19-school-yearThe Health Survey for England measures the height and weight of a small sample of children annually. The latest available report, from the 2017 survey, shows that 10% of two to four-year-olds surveyed were obese. This is based on measurements taken from 536 children. These are available to view at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2017No data is collected centrally for children below the age of two.

Department for International Development

Syria: Migrant Camps

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria; and what steps her Department is taking to support refugees within that camp.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We are working closely with our partners on the ground to meet the humanitarian needs of the roughly 70,000 people in Al Hol camp. Conditions at the start of the year were very poor, following a large and unplanned influx of people in need.Last financial year we provided over £40 million in humanitarian assistance in Northeast Syria, and plan to continue our support at that level this year. The UK’s initial humanitarian response focused on immediate, life-saving support, such as food, water, shelter (over 1,300 tents for example) and healthcare. This included providing “safe spaces” for children in the camp.The biggest challenge facing our current programme is security of staff, with recent events resulting in NGO international staff being evacuated and local staff having to continue delivery under difficult circumstances. In spite of this, we are engaging with our partners to ensure humanitarian access is continuing to be delivered to Al Hol.

Syria: Water

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of reports by the (a) International Committee of the Red Cross and (b) Syrian Arab Red Crescent that Hassekeh city is at risk of  running out of water as a result of damage to the main water station during the recent escalation in military conflict; and what steps will his Department take to ensure adequate water supplies to that region.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We are aware of water shortages in Hassekeh. These have been caused by the damage to the Alouk/Al Haouk water station, which compounds an existing issue as water supplies in Hassekeh have been under enormous strain since before the crisis. This water station is critical and serves approximately 400,000 people in Hassekeh and camps in the area. The UN is currently assessing the damage and needs in the water station. We are actively engaging with partners on the ground to assess any impact on their ability to assist those in need. Whilst partners had prepared contingency planning and prepositioned supplies in advance of the recent crisis, we understand that some of our partners have now had to suspend operations to protect their staff. In spite of this, we are engaging with our partners to ensure humanitarian access is continuing to be delivered to those in need. The Secretary of State has been in contact with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, to identify gaps in the humanitarian response. Last financial year we provided over £40 million in humanitarian assistance in Northeast Syria, and intend to continue our support at that level this financial year. This support is focussed on reaching those in most acute need, providing vital food, water, shelter and healthcare.

Syria: International Assistance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps he has taken to support aid agencies in northern Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We are deeply concerned by the ongoing situation in Northeast Syria. We remain in regular contact with our partner aid agencies to ensure they have the flexibility they need to meet increased humanitarian needs. The biggest challenge facing agencies is security of staff, with recent events resulting in NGO international staff being evacuated and local staff having to continue delivery under difficult circumstances. We continue to work with partners to ensure continued humanitarian access. Last financial year we provided over £40 million in humanitarian assistance in Northeast Syria, and intend to continue our support at that level this financial year; this funding is flexible and allows partners to direct resources to help those affected by Turkish military action. The Secretary of State has also been in contact with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, to identify any gaps in the humanitarian response, and ensure those affected by the situation in Northeast Syria are getting the support they need.

Department for Education

Sign Language: GCSE

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to expedite the development of a GCSE in British Sign Language.

Nick Gibb: The Government is aiming to introduce a GCSE in British Sign Language as soon as possible, so long as it proves possible to develop a qualification that meets the rigorous requirements that apply to all GCSEs. We are currently working with subject experts to develop draft subject content.The Department will be working with Ofqual to ensure that the subject content can be assessed appropriately and will be working with stakeholders to ensure a wide range of views are reflected. We are aiming to consult publicly on draft content next year. Once final subject content has been published, it will be a matter for individual awarding organisations to decide whether to develop a specification and have this accredited by Ofqual.

Schools: Census

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will include data on children with disabilities in the school census.

Michelle Donelan: It is Special Educational Needs (SEN) that is the main focus of our data collection and dissemination in relation to children and young people. This is because our policy is to focus efforts on the impact of conditions (some of which are disabilities) on the educational experience of the individual and how barriers to individuals’ learning and participation in education can be removed.SEN is defined as a learning difficulty or a disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person. So, in the schools data we publish on SEN, those pupils whose disability requires special help in school are included in the SEN figures. We do not therefore consider it appropriate to collect information separately on disability as well.

GCE A-level: Hearing Impairment

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department collects on the proportion of deaf young people who have completed A-levels.

Michelle Donelan: A record proportion of deaf young people are completing an A-level or level 3 equivalent. Information on the attainment of students with and without special educational needs (SEN) who have completed an A level is available, but this information cannot be broken down further by type of need.However, the department does publish figures on level 3 attainment (i.e. achievement of 2 or more A levels or an equivalent sized vocational qualification) by the age of 19 and this includes figures on the primary type of SEN, including the category ‘Hearing Impairment’. The table below contains further details of this: Percentage of pupils with SEN, who have a hearing impairment1, qualified to level 32 by the age of 19Coverage: Young people in state schools in England at the age of 1520072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201831.030.536.838.337.441.042.944.043.144.041.344.1 As identified in year 112 or more A levels or an equivalent-sized vocational qualification

Pre-school Education: Finance

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to the Maintained Nursery School budget for the financial year 2020-21.

Nick Gibb: The Government recognises that maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services to disadvantaged children.The Government plans to spend £3.6 billion to support early education in the financial year 2020-21 and details of how this is to be distributed across local authorities will be issued shortly.

Supply Teachers

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of a school’s budget was spent on supply teachers in (a) The London Borough of Hounslow, (b) Greater London and (c) England in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes the income and expenditure, including on supply teachers, annually for local authority maintained schools and for academies.Published schools’ Consistent Financial Reporting and Academies’ Accounting Returns are available at the following link: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/.

Further Education: Finance

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to allocate funding to further education providers in England as a result of the increase in pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme from 1 April 2020.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding to further education institutions in England to compensate for the increase in pension contribution under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme from 1 April 2020 will lead to a Barnett consequential for Wales.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding will be allocated to the Welsh Government to compensate for the additional pension contributions in the further education sector that will be in effect from 1 April 2020.

Michelle Donelan: Holding answer received on 22 October 2019



On 10 April, the department set out its plans to fund further education providers in England to compensate them for the increase in employer pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme from September 2019 to July 2020. The details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-scheme-employer-contribution-grant-further-education-providers. This grant is being made in 2 payments: one in September 2019 and one in April 2020.  Following the Spending Round announcement on 31 August, we have been able to confirm that we will continue to provide this funding for the rest of financial year 2020-21. The details of the allocation for 2020-21 and the amounts for the remainder of that financial year are still to be determined, based on the most recent data from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, and these will be announced in due course. The department has no plans to provide additional funding specifically for contributions for the Local Government Pensions Scheme.  However, the government has announced £400 million additional funding for 16-19 education in 2020-21, which is a 7% increase in funding for education providers for this age group, in addition to the funding for teachers’ pensions. The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the devolved administrations by the UK government. Under the Barnett Formula, the Welsh government receives a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK government spending on comparable services in England. The Barnett Formula therefore determines changes to each devolved administration’s funding with reference to changes in Departmental Expenditure Limit funding for the department. The additional funding for the department in the August 2019 Spending Round will, therefore, be reflected in the normal way in the block grant for the Welsh government. The funding for further education pensions in 2020-21 will come partly from an addition to the department’s allocation and partly from re-prioritisation of resources within the baseline allocation for the department.

Pupil Referral Units: GCSE

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whats steps the Government is taking to increase the proportion of students in pupil referral units achieving passes in GCSE (a) English and (b) Maths.

Nick Gibb: There are many reasons why children who attend alternative provision (AP) at Key Stage 4 may face challenges gaining good GCSE grades in English and maths. The Department is currently looking closely at what we need to do to ensure AP provides high quality education and the right support for these children that will enable them to succeed. The Department wants to be as ambitious for them as we are for all children and young people.As part of this the Department has already launched a £4 million AP Innovation Fund which is delivering nine projects focused on testing ways to improve outcomes for children in AP.The Department will build on the best practice that my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and I have seen on visits to schools like Everton Free School and London East Alternative Provision school in Tower Hamlets.

Ministry of Justice

Offenders: Females

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Queen's speech 2019, whether his Department's priorities for the Female Offender Strategy have changed.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it remains his Department's priority to reduce the use of short prison sentences for women.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for women, published on 18 June 2019.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it remains his Department's policy to manage female offenders in the community through a community order, who would otherwise face a short prison sentence.

Lucy Frazer: We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime and public protection is our priority. The Sentencing Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, will contain a range of measures targeted at the most serious violent and sexual offenders to ensure their punishment reflects the severity of their crimes. It will also contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of offending. While custody should be available as a last resort, if we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in community sentences, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, or provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community. We remain committed to the vision and aims set out in our Female Offender Strategy (June 2018); which aims to see fewer women in custody. There is persuasive evidence that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences. Where a woman needs to be in custody, we want to provide rehabilitative regimes specifically tailored to women’s needs to break the reoffending cycle. However, we know that for many vulnerable women, with the right support at the right time, there are opportunities to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system at all. Publication of the Strategy was the start of a new and significant programme of work to deliver better outcomes for female offenders that will take some years to deliver. Lord Farmer’s review, The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime, continued his work on the importance of family ties in improving outcomes for offenders, by looking at the issues for female offenders in the community and custody. We welcome the findings and recommendations of the review and we are committed to taking this important area of work forward. The 33 recommendations cover a number of Government departments, and officials are working at pace to see how we can best give effect to them in both the short and longer term. We have accepted Lord Farmer’s recommendation for this work to be embedded into joint policy and operational Family Strategy Working Group (FWSG), which is already taking forward implementation of the original Farmer Review. We are reporting to Lord Farmer with progress on a quarterly basis.

Prisons: Education

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many providers are listed on the Dynamic Purchasing System for education in prison.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts are listed on the Dynamic Purchasing System for education in prisons.

Lucy Frazer: As at 15 October 2019, there were 282 suppliers on the prison education Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) with 146 contracts awarded.The DPS enables prison governors to commission innovative, specialist or one-off education programmes for their establishment.As set out in the Education and Employment Strategy, launched in May 2018, significant changes to the delivery arrangements for prison education took full effect from April 2019. From that point, governors took control of their establishment’s education budget, determined the curriculum on offer, how it is structured, and decided who their education providers will be.

Prison Officers

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band 3-5 prison officers were temporarily transferred from other prisons to prisons in his Ten Prisons Project.

Lucy Frazer: Detached duty (DD) is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons and respond appropriately to any operational issues that arise. The deployment of staff between prisons on DD is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing and the number of prison officers deployed will reflect operational circumstances. Of the 10 prisons in the 10 Prisons Project, only one prison – HMP Wormwood Scrubs - received band 3-5 prison officers from other establishments between August 2018 and August 2019. The table below shows the number and cycle of staff deployed to Wormwood Scrubs during the life of the project. Detached duty is allocated on a cycle (four week average) rather than on a month-by-month basis. Detached duty cycleHeadcount 6th May – 2nd June 2019328th July – 24th Aug 20191225th Aug – 21st Sept 201920Total 35

Prison Officers: Women's prisons

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band 3 to 5 prison officers in each female prison have less than two years' experience.

Lucy Frazer: The number of band 3 to 5 prison officers in each female prison with less than two years' experience are given in the following Table 1. Table 1 - Number of Band 3-5 Prison Officers1 (Full Time Equivalent) in each female prison with less than two years’ Length of Service2 - as at 30th June 2019 Female PrisonAskham Grange10Downview39Drake Hall19East Sutton Park0Eastwood Park36Foston Hall34Low Newton30New Hall31Send31Styal73 NotesIncludes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.2. Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.

Witnesses

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the adequacy of witness testimony.

Wendy Morton: We are committed to helping all witnesses give their best possible evidence so that offenders are brought to justice. As part of the cross-government Victim’s Strategy (published in September 2018), the Government committed to the wider provision of special measures for vulnerable and intimated witnesses, both when giving evidence and during cross-examination.These measures include:the use of video recorded police interviews (called ABEs – Achieving Best Evidence)instead of written statements;the removal of wigs and gowns by judges and barristers;cross examination at court via a live video linkvideo-recorded evidence-in-chief and cross examination behind a screen or curtain, sothat they are shielded from sight of the defendantthe support of a Registered Intermediary for witnesses who require communication assistance when giving evidence. The Victim’s Strategy also reaffirmed our commitment to rolling out pre-recorded cross examination, as provided for in section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, for vulnerable witnesses such as child witnesses under 16 or witnesses vulnerable due to physical or mental disability. By June 2019 this has commenced at nine Crown Court centres in England and Wales. In June 2019 we also extended section 28 to intimidated witnesses who are a victim of crime in sexual and modern slavery offences by testing the provision in the Crown Court centres at Leeds, Liverpool, and Kingston upon Thames.

Elections: Fraud

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of voter ID fraud in the last twelve months.

Chris Philp: There is no specific offence of voter ID fraud. Cases are usually prosecuted as offences involving fraud by false representation as well as offences involving impersonation. It is not possible to ascertain if an offender was convicted specifically for voter ID fraud as this information is not centrally held in the court proceedings database. As a result, identifying the number of offenders convicted for voter ID fraud from court data would require a manual search of court records, which would be of disproportionate cost. The Electoral Commission hold more detailed information which can be found at this link: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/our-views-and-research/our-research/electoral-fraud-data/2018-electoral-fraud-data

Reoffenders

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders on licence after fixed-term recall (a) re-offended and (b) breached their licence conditions and were recalled for a fixed term again in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The only lawful basis for recalling an offender on licence to custody is by way of response to a breach of one or more licence conditions. In some cases, the breach of licence conditions will be associated with some alleged further offending. Whilst information about offenders who receive a further fixed term recall is held, to produce the proportion of those who had received more than one fixed term recall could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Public protection is our priority. Offenders on licence are subject to strict licence conditions and supervision.Where offenders are eligible for a fixed-term recall, they may be recalled to prison on a standard recall, which is the only type of recall available for those offenders ineligible for a fixed-term recall (such as those on a life licence). Where they receive a standard recall, they are liable to serve the rest of their sentence in prison.The decision to recall is taken on the professional advice of senior probation staff.From the data available, I can report that the following number of offenders were recalled multiple times in each year, on a fixed-term recall, on the same sentence. In each decision in every case, the probation officer will have established that the offender was eligible for a fixed-term recall and will have judged, based on the available evidence, that a fixed-term recall was the necessary and proportionate response to the breach of licence condition(s). YearNumber of offenders2014260620152644201613872017225820182362 **The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Reoffenders

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of recalls to prison resulted in (a) fixed-term recall and (b) standard recall in the latest period for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: For the period 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019 there were 2522 fixed term recalls (41%) and 3646 standard recalls (59%). Where offenders are eligible for a fixed-term recall, their probation officer may decide that a fixed-term recall is the proportionate and necessary response to a breach of licence conditions. If not, they will be recalled to prison on a standard recall, which is the only type of recall available as a response for offenders ineligible for a fixed-term recall. Where offenders are recalled on a standard recall, they are liable to serve the rest of their sentence in prison.The decision to recall is taken on the professional advice of senior probation staff.

Prisoners: Parents

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) fathers and (b) mothers in prison who have children under the age of 18.

Lucy Frazer: The information as requested is not collected or held centrally and cannot be verified. We acknowledge the importance of data collection to illuminate the prevalence and needs of those women prisoners with children, dependent or otherwise, as well as pregnancy, and to inform policy and practice in this area. Where an offender does choose to disclose, data is collected, although this data does not provide detailed information of the child’s age or whether they are dependents. However, the current system of safeguarding should capture children most at risk, including children for whom safe, alternative care arrangements have not yet been put in place. The government also recognises that the children of offenders can be disadvantaged, and we continue to explore ways in which to improve their lives and to adequately support their needs. We remain committed to ensuring that all children get the help and support they need to live fulfilled and happy lives.

Prisoners' Release: Childcare

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) men and (b) women were released on Childcare resettlement licence in the latest year for which information is available.

Lucy Frazer: Data on release on Childcare Resettlement Licence (CRL) is published regularly in the Offender Management Statistics:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018 Table A3.7 of Prison Releases: 2018 shows that there were 32 incidences of release on CRL for men and 322 incidences of release on CRL for women. This is the number of releases rather than the number of individuals released, which is not available by type of release on temporary licence (ROTL). CRL is a form of ROTL which allows primary carers of children under 18 to be released to help maintain the relationship with their children. As with any ROTL there is a stringent risk assessment and the release must be in the child’s best interests. The higher incidence of release on CRL for women reflects the fact that primary carers of children are more likely to be women.

Prisoners' Release: Curfews

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of eligible (a) men and (b) women were released on home detention curfew in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: Data on releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is published regularly in the Offender Management Statistics:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018 The following table is taken from table A3.5 of Prison Releases: 2018 Proportion of eligible offenders* released on HDC 2016-18 201620172018Men20%20%36%Women32%29%45%Total21%21%36% *This is the number of offenders serving sentences of between 12 weeks and just under 4 years and therefore potentially eligible for release on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in the relevant period. It includes offenders who are in fact statutorily ineligible for HDC, plus offenders presumed unsuitable for HDC who will only be considered for release in exceptional circumstances HDC is a robust scheme which allows suitable, risk assessed, prisoners to work towards rehabilitation in the community, while remaining subject to strict monitoring and other conditions. If they breach these, they can be returned to custody. HDC allows reintegration back into the community in a controlled and supervised way, which research suggests may help to reduce the risk of further offending.As indicated above, due to the way the data is recorded, the eligible pool of offenders given in the published data in fact includes some who could not lawfully be released on HDC, including those sentenced to imprisonment for sexual offences who are overwhelmingly male.

Firearms: Smuggling

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of illegally importing firearms into the UK in each of the last five years.

Chris Philp: The Ministry of Justice has published information on the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted for importing firearms and other weaponsin England & Wales over the last 5 years, up to the year ending December 2018. This data is available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804510/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2018.xlsx To find the numbers of individuals convicted of crimes related to the importation of weapons in each year use the ‘Offence code’ filter to select offences ‘08173’, ‘08179’ and ‘08181’. The number of individuals convicted of these crimes in each year will then be shown in row 32.

Prisoners' Transfers: Pregnancy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many pregnant women have been transported in prisoner transport vehicles in each of the last three years.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions women and men have been transported together in prisoner transport vehicles in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: A total of 1,700 pregnant women moves took place between August 2016 and September 2019. This does not necessarily equate to the number of individuals transported, as the same prisoner may have been moved more than once. Pregnant women are moved in multi-purpose vehicles as opposed to cellular vehicles in all but exceptional circumstances. A breakdown of journeys is provided in the table below. YearNumber of female moves2016 (August – December)249201764020185332019 (January – September)278  Below is a table showing the number of instances where both women and men have been transported in the same vehicle. YearNumber of instances OF failure to separate females201781201852019 YTD9 The Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) contract is specifically designed for the movement of prisoners in cellular vehicles that meets MOJ standards. The contracts include a Contract Delivery Indicator which requires women to be separated from men for at least 97% of all journeys made. The current national performance is 99.89% of total journeys made. Private providers continue to play an important role in the prison estate. HMPPS will continue to closely monitor the performance of all providers and we will not hesitate to take action where standards fall short.

Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Nationals

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many overseas drivers have been prosecuted for committing the offence of speeding on UK roads between August 2018 and August 2019.

Chris Philp: The Ministry of Justice has published information on the number of defendants prosecuted for speed limit offences in England & Wales over the last decade, up to the year ending December 2018, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802314/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx  However, the nationality of defendants is not centrally held in the court proceedings database. As a result, identifying the number of overseas drivers prosecuted for this offence would require a manual search of court records, which would be of disproportionate cost.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority has a code of conduct for its staff working in the (a) the Investigation and Supervision Unit, (b) Forensic Investigation Unit and (c) Legal and Enforcement Unit.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ask the Legal Services Board to initiate a review of the consistency of Solicitors Regulation Authority decision-making in relation to (a) supervision, (b) investigations and (c) enforcement in connection with (i) sole practitioners and (ii) firms with no more than four partners, members or directors and which have an annual turnover of no more than £400,000.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what key performance indicators exist for staff within the (a) investigation and supervision, (b) forensic investigation and (c) legal and enforcement units of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the data on supervision and enforcement outcomes on page 39 of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Annual Report 2017-19, published on 23 May 2019, if he will make an assessment of the value for money represented by the recent exercise of the investigation and enforcement functions of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Chris Philp: Under the framework established by the Legal Services Act 2007, the legal profession in England and Wales, and the bodies that regulate it, are independent from government. It is the responsibility of the Legal Services Board, as oversight regulator, to ensure that the approved regulators are complying with the regulatory objectives set out in the 2007 Act.

Prisoners: Domestic Abuse

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of women in prison have been perpetrators of domestic violence.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is not collected centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of assaults on prison staff were (a) dealt with by the prison and (b) charged as an offence in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: HMPPS has been working closely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure they understand the impact of crimes committed within prison. HMPPS published the revised Crime in Prison Referral Agreement in May 2019. This Agreement sets out how crimes in prison will be referred, investigated and prosecuted and aims to provide a more consistent approach to managing crimes committed within prison. The Crime in Prison Referral Agreement specifies that all assaults against members of staff, unless there is little or no injury should be referred to the police. It is not possible to identify the proportion of assaults on prison staff has been charged as an offence in each of the last five years as this information is not held centrally. Detailed information may be held on court record but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of recalls to prison have been 28 day fixed-term recalls in the latest year for which information is available.

Lucy Frazer: The number of 28 day fixed term recalls to prison in England and Wales for the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 was 4,665, this equates to 19% of the total number of recalls for the period which was 24,268.Public protection is our priority. Offenders on licence are subject to strict licence conditions and supervision.Where offenders are eligible for a fixed-term recall, they may be recalled to prison on a fixed-term basis, where that is a necessary and proportionate response to a breach of licence conditions. If not, they will receive a standard recall, which is the only type of recall available for those offenders ineligible for a fixed-term recall (such as those on a life licence). Where they receive a standard recall, they are liable to serve the rest of their sentence in prison, unless the Parole Board or the Secretary of State executively re-releases them.The decision to recall is taken on the professional advice of senior probation staff.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce the time taken for welfare benefits appeals to be heard by the tribunal service and (b) tackle the backlog of those appeals in (i) Wansbeck constituency and (ii) England.

Chris Philp: The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants. For appellants in Wansbeck, whose closest tribunal venue is in Bedlington, if the venue receives a request for an urgent hearing, the appellant may be offered an alternative venue or a telephone hearing, where appropriate. Furthermore, triage sessions have been held on Saturdays at the Newcastle venue. This is where the tribunal panel looks at a series of cases to assess whether a decision can be made prior to the appellant’s oral hearing date or if further evidence is required before a decision can be made. This reduces the risk of a case having to be adjourned on the day of the oral hearing. Across the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction more widely, the Department is currently in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 112 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS are also developing a new digital system with the view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings.

Ministry of Justice: Equal Pay

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many equal pay reviews there have been in his Department since 2010; what the dates were of those reviews; and whether his Department plans to undertake an equal pay review in 2019.

Chris Philp: The Ministry of Justice conducts regular equality impact assessments on all proposed pay and policy changes and implementation. The MoJ operates a pay and grading structure where pay is defined by job weight and content. HMPPS is responsible for preparing and submitting the Government’s annual evidence on Prison Officer’s pay to the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body. As part of this process, HMPPS looks at all equality issues based on the proposals and monitor the diversity of the remit group from available data. A full review was conducted in 2012 which resulted in the introduction of a new pay and grading structure and new ways of working (Fair and Sustainable) for Prison Officer grades. Fair and Sustainable was introduced to support pay equality, with salary determined by the requirements of the role based on the Job description. An Equality Impact Assessment on pay in the National Probation Service was carried out in September 2018 as part of a project to reform its pay structure.

Prison Officers: Older Workers

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on prison officer pensions of the ability of those officers to continue frontline work beyond the age of 60.

Lucy Frazer: Whilst we highly value our hardworking prison staff, there has been no assessment made of the implications of the pension policy of the ability of those officers to continue frontline work beyond the age of 60.   The Ministry supports all its staff, especially those working in an operational environment, and offers all staff access to medical professionals for physical and mental wellbeing.

Treasury

Entrepreneurs' Relief

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the objectives of the Entrepreneur Relief scheme are; and what assessment his Department has made as to whether those objectives are being met.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) effect and (b) cost effectiveness of the Entrepreneur Relief scheme on incentivising investment in business.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Association of Accounting Technicians' proposal for the Government to abolish Entrepreneurs Relief and invest the £3 billion saving in initiatives or reliefs that encourage business start-ups or scale-up activity.

Jesse Norman: The objective of Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) is to promote enterprise by offering a reduced rate of tax to individuals who have contributed to the creation and growth of a business. The Government continues to monitor the effectiveness of ER. HMRC’s most recent evaluation was published in December 2017, and is available here. The Government has no current plans to abolish ER, but keeps all taxes and reliefs under review.

Business: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government has taken to evaluate the potential effect of IR35 on the economic viability of businesses that rely on (a) seasonal and (b) demand-driven workforces.

Jesse Norman: The off-payroll working rules (sometimes known as IR35) have been in place since 2000. They are designed to ensure that individuals working like employees pay broadly the same amount of tax and National Insurance Contributions, regardless of the structure they work through. They do not affect the self-employed. Budget 2018 announced that reforms introduced in 2017 for the public sector would be extended to all sectors, from April 2020, giving businesses time to prepare. The Government has consulted extensively on the reform, and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published guidance and are delivering an education and support programme to help customers prepare. On 11 July 2019, HMRC published a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the costs to business and individuals, and the economic impact of the off-payroll reform. This can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020

Small Businesses: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that SMEs are adequately prepared for IR35.

Jesse Norman: Budget 2018 announced that reforms introduced in 2017 for the public sector would be extended to all sectors, from 6 April 2020, giving businesses time to prepare. The Government consulted widely on the proposed extension of the reform to all sectors, including over summer 2018 and spring 2019. Having listened to concerns, the Government announced the changes be introduced from April 2020 for medium and large-sized organisations only. The Government has worked closely with external stakeholders to ensure that they are ready for these changes, providing targeted support for companies to help them implement these changes. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) continue to work with stakeholders to make improvements to the Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) digital service to help them make decisions on the employment status for tax purposes of their workers. In addition, HMRC have set up dedicated teams to provide education and guidance to all businesses affected by the reforms. This support will include one-to-one support for 2,000 of the UK’s biggest employers and direct communications to around 15,000 medium-sized businesses. HMRC have produced guidance for customers affected by the rule changes, which can be found on GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/april-2020-changes-to-off-payroll-working-for-clients

High Speed 2 Railway Line and Public Expenditure

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) expenditure on High Speed Rail 2 and (b) Scottish Barnett Consequential allocation was in each year since 2010.

Rishi Sunak: There has been a total spend up to 31 March 2019 of £7.4bn made up of HS2 Ltd spend and spend by the Department for Transport on HS2 Land and Property. The profile of this spend is set out in the table below. These numbers have been taken from Departmental accounts and exclude £0.6bn incurred by HS2 Ltd to date on construction VAT.  Total spend on HS2 excluding construction VAT (£m)2009-109.52010-1114.62011-1234.22012-13182.82013-14207.92014-15185.22015-16348.92016-171,466.52017-182,767.22018-192,191.4Total7,408.2 As set out in HM Treasury’s Statement of Funding Policy, the Barnett formula is generally applied at departmental level at Spending Reviews/Rounds and at programme level at fiscal events. Since 2010, HS2 has received all its funding through the Department for Transport’s settlements at Spending Reviews/Rounds where Barnett has been applied at departmental level. The spending on HS2 is not therefore associated with specific Barnett consequentials. HM Treasury’s Spending Review/Round documents set out the block grant funding for the Scottish Government. Documents relating to SR10, SR13, SR15 and SR19 can be found on the gov.uk website. Following UK Government decisions at Spending Round 2019, the Scottish Government benefitted from an increase of over £1.2bn in the Barnett-based block grant, which will increase to £34.4bn in 2020-21.

Children: Poverty

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children under five years old living in poverty.

Rishi Sunak: HM Treasury use the ‘Household below average income (HBAI)’ statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions to determine the number of children living in low-income households. Tackling child poverty will always be a priority for the government. The government’s view is that work remains the best route out of poverty: children in households where all adults are working are five times less likely to be in relative low income (before housing costs) than those in workless households.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Department is taking to support sustainable house-building.

Esther McVey: The Department is committed to increasing the sustainability of new homes.On 1 October the government launched a consultation on stronger building regulations that will pave the way for the Future Homes Standard. These 2020 changes aim to cut carbon emissions in new homes by almost a third, while keeping household bills low.We propose that new homes built to the Future Homes Standard from 2025 should have 75-80 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than ones built to current building regulations standards. Developers will be expected to use new technologies such as air source heat pumps and the latest generation of solar panels.A further consultation will follow, in the coming months, proposing changes to the energy efficiency standards for non-domestic buildings and existing homes; and on preventing overheating in new buildings.The revised National Planning Policy Framework, re-issued February 2019, expects local planning authorities to plan for climate change. Local authorities should take account of how new developments will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as through its location, orientation and design. Local authorities should also adopt proactive strategies to adapt to climate change. Planning practice guidance provides advice for local authorities and applicants on implementing these policies.The National Planning Policy Framework also supports sustainability more broadly and will help deliver the 25 Year Environment Plan, and the Clean Air Strategy. For example, the Framework retains strong and appropriate protections for the natural environment and expects local authorities to require developers to include green infrastructure in housing and commercial developments. The 25 Year Environment Plan commands strong public support and helps ensure new housing is built sustainably.

National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects construction on the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to start; and how much has been allocated from the public purse before construction starts and (a) in total (b) for each of (i) Big Ideas, (ii) Dp9, (iii) Four Communications and (iv) Newgate Communications.

Jake Berry: I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer to Question UIN 293452 of 8 October for Big ideas and Four Communications. He is reminded that neither DP9 nor Newgate Communications receive public money for their services to the project. We expect construction of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to begin in 2020, subject to planning permission.

Derelict Land

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with developers to encourage building on brownfield sites.

Esther McVey: This government has made its support for the re-use of brownfield sites abundantly clear. Our National Planning Policy Framework, re-issued February 2019, expects local authorities to give substantial weight to the re-use of suitable brownfield land. To assist redevelopment the government offers loans for site preparation and infrastructure, and tax relief for land remediation; and we introduced Permission in Principle to speed housing-led development on sites included in the registers of brownfield land which every local authority in England now produces. Published information suggests that that across England there are over 28,000 hectares of brownfield land suitable for housing. Green Belt land is only released for development in exceptional circumstances, and once all other options have been exhausted While the Secretary of State has not held recent discussions with developers about specific policies related to brownfield land, we are continuing to emphasise the priority we attach to using brownfield sites.

Affordable Housing: South Gloucestershire

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the revised Joint Spatial Plan for South Gloucestershire allows the building of affordable homes in the Filton and Bradley Stoke area.

Esther McVey: Wherever possible we want to allow decisions about the future of areas to be taken locally without the involvement of central government.Because of his quasi-judicial role in the planning system, the Secretary of State is unable to comment on the detail of local plans at examination. The authorities involved in the Joint Spatial Plan for the West of England, including South Gloucestershire, have choices to make about how they want to proceed with their plan given the recommendation from their Planning Inspectors that it should be withdrawn. The policies in any revised plan will be locally determined and will then be assessed by independent Inspectors for their soundness.The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that housing needed for different groups in the community should be assessed and reflected in planning policies, including making sufficient provision for affordable housing.The government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has delivered over 430,000 affordable homes since 2010. We have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including at least 12,500 for social rent.On 18 September 2018 we announced an additional £2 billion of long term funding certainty for housing associations. This extra funding will deliver more affordable homes and stimulate the sector’s wider building ambitions, through strategic partnerships.On 27 June 2019, we opened bidding on £1 billion of this funding through Homes England.

Local Government Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much of the £77 million funding allocated to local authorities for the purpose of no deal preparations has been allocated to each local authority.

Luke Hall: The Department has made available £77 million to help local areas to prepare for Brexit. Of this, £60 million has been shared between all local authorities across 2018/19 and 2019/20 (in three separate payments): unitary authorities have each received £314,952; county councils have each received £262,500; district councils have each received £52,452; and combined authorities have each received £272,727. £8.15 million has also been allocated to those councils which either have, or are near to, a major air, land or sea port to increase capacity to plan for and accommodate changes and ensure the councils continue to operate efficiently. £5.79 million has been allocated to Local Resilience Forums to support them with their core administration costs for preparing, testing, assuring and delivering plans for supporting the delivery of Brexit.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal wellbeing in formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.

Jake Berry: We use Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics to inform Health and Wellbeing policy within the Civil Service. The Department also measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole.The four personal well-being questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/july2017tojune2018.We make use of a wide range of data and evidence in developing our policies, including data sources which focus on well-being. This includes the above estimates of personal wellbeing, as well as our own surveys and data collection tools which include questions and data which are highly relevant to the well being agenda such as the English Housing Survey and English Indices of Deprivation. We also continue to use and support the development of the wider evidence base on well-being, as we are one of the HMG funders of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ystradffin Farm

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons he has leased Ystradffin Farm, Rhandirmwyn, Llandovery SA20 0PG.

Jake Berry: A lease, in the name of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has been taken, on behalf of the Home Office, to accommodate infrastructure for the new Emergency Services Network (ESN).The site at Ystradffin Farm was identified by the ESN Programme as a suitable location for a 22.5m Extended Area Service (EAS) lattice mast. Planning for the site has been submitted but not yet granted.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies her Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson: Wellbeing indicators are used to inform DWP policy. For example, within the programme of work and health trials being delivered by the joint DWP/DHSC Work and Health Unit, ONS measures of wellbeing are being collected alongside health and employment outcomes to inform future policy development. Within the data pack that informed the 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper, the relationship between employment status and wellbeing was considered. In addition, specific DWP initiatives are designed to help promote citizen wellbeing. For example, in 2019, the Department launched the `Mid-life MOTs’ online portal to encourage more active planning in the key areas of work, wellbeing and finances.

Department for Work and Pensions: Pay

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the pay system in her Department has been changed to take account of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Mr G Willetts and Others on holiday pay and voluntary overtime; and whether affected workers in her Department have been given back pay as a result of that ruling.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently developing a policy to account for the rulings related to holiday pay and voluntary overtime. As this policy is still in development, no payments have been made.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which of her Department's offices staff working on maternity allowance are deployed.

Mims Davies: We have staff in Walsall, Birkenhead and St Helens currently deployed on MA with telephony support from Atlantic Quay.

Pension Credit: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the uptake of pension credits in Easington constituency.

Guy Opperman: Potential customers can use the Pension Credit Calculator https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800991234. There are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit, but the Government wants to ensure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. In Easington there are around 3,000 pensioners already claiming Pension Credit. On a national basis, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on https://gov.uk/, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit. We welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community. To help facilitate this, we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are deployed in her Department's offices in Walsall; which benefits those staff administer; and what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of staffing levels for each of the benefits administered in those offices.

Mims Davies: There are 241 Full time equivalents (FTE) employed in Walsall: 162 FTE are employed on Universal Credit; and79 FTE are employed on Maternity Allowance. All Social Fund work has been re-located and the staff have all moved across to Maternity Allowance.

Universal Credit

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much a universal credit payment to a single mother is reduced by when two maternity payments are received within the universal credit calculation period due to a bank holiday.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Highland Council area received two statutory maternity payments within the universal credit calculation period due to a bank holiday in 2019.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that payments of statutory maternity pay that are delayed due to bank holidays do not affect universal credit payments.

Mims Davies: Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by an employer through their payroll system and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance (where a claimant is eligible) and tapering, in the same way as other earned income. As a consequence, information surrounding the volumes of SMP payments received by Universal Credit claimants in the Highland Council area is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their Case Manager or Work Coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their budgeting. The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live in 2013 to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information system. HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.

Universal Credit

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will introduce a bus voucher system for universal credit claimants who may not be able to afford public transport costs to attend job centres.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the affordability of public transport costs for those attending (a) Wick Job Centre and (b) job centres; and whether her Department is taking steps to provide advance funding to universal credit claimants for those costs.

Will Quince: Since the introduction of Universal Credit, claimants have been supported by Jobcentre Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach to contact, with much greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an appointment in person.To assist with the affordability of public transport, and where an appointment at a Jobcentre has been agreed as necessary, Work Coaches are able to consider the reimbursement of a claimant’s travel costs. The Department publishes clear guidance to its staff of when mandatory awards for travel must be made from the Flexible Support Fund – a copy of this is available in the House of Commons’ Library. In exceptional situations, where a claimant’s requirements cannot be met in any other way, an advance payment can be made.The Department works closely with partner organisations in Northern Scotland to deliver services in locations convenient for the local population it serves. Local Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to support the needs of their communities, providing our most vulnerable claimants with help tailored to their circumstances. For those who find it the most challenging to attend in person, we operate a 'Remote Customer Service Delivery' service, within the Wick area, which maximises the use of telephone and postal services to reduce the frequency of face-to-face appointments to make and maintain a claim to Universal Credit.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forests: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will support the delivery of the Northern Forest; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting that delivery through (a) the development of green investment models, (b) Government grants, (c) developer levies and (d) contributions and other support from offsetting planned Government infrastructure projects.

Zac Goldsmith: As part of the Government’s ambitious 25 Year Environment Plan (YEP), we are providing £5.7 million to support the existing Northern Forest Partnership, with Community Forests and The Woodland Trust to accelerate and further develop the Northern Forest. This will help plant at least 1.8 million new trees in the Northern Forest by 2022. A minimum of 1 million of these trees are being delivered through the Partnership Innovation Fund element of our investment. Through this approach we are working closely with the Northern Forest Partnership to consider, develop and test innovative approaches and policies from the 25 YEP such as Forestry Investment Zones, natural capital, carbon off-setting and green investment financing models. The Government is also working with the Northern Forest Partnership to increase planting rates, through joint working of Defra Group bodies like the Forestry Commission (FC), with the Partnership signposting land managers to existing FC funding. This approach will ensure trees are planted now and kick-start the development of the Northern Forest, helping the Partnership to realise their longer-term vision of 50 million trees over the next 25 years.

Amazonia: Rain Forests

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that no products linked to Amazon deforestation are sold in the UK.

Zac Goldsmith: The UK Government is committed to supporting deforestation-free supply chains as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan. To address the footprint of products linked to deforestation, such as soya and beef, we have established the Global Resource Initiative (GRI). Led by a taskforce comprising of senior representatives from the private sector and civil society, the GRI will produce a set of recommendations in early 2020 to address the impact of the UK’s commodity supply chains. These recommendations may relate to regulatory and policy measures, transparency, financial incentives, trade, sustainable procurement and/or the role of the consumer. To address issues in relation to soya specifically, we have established the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya which has recently led to 83% of the UK retail market publishing concrete sourcing policies to deliver sustainable soya to the UK market. The Government works in partnership with countries in the Amazon to tackle deforestation and has invested nearly £120 million through the UK’s International Climate Finance on projects to support sustainable agriculture, prevent forest fires and implement the Forest Code in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Following the Amazon fires the UK has pledged a further £10 million to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

Food Supply

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on food supplies of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Zac Goldsmith: We would prefer to leave with a deal and we will work in an energetic and determined way to deliver that better deal.The UK food and drink supply chain contributes £121 billion to the economy and employs four million people (12% of UK employment). Food and drink manufacturing is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, while food and drink retail is the largest service sector employer.Consumers have access to a wide range of food products when they shop and this will continue once we leave the EU. However, if key trade routes are temporarily disrupted, there would be reduced availability and choice of certain food products, including some of the fresh produce we import from the EU. If we have to leave with no deal, there will not be an overall shortage of food in the UK.While we are reliant on imports of certain fresh products at this time of year, our market profiles clearly demonstrate strong UK winter production of many root vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, swedes, turnips, parsnips and leeks.

Animal Products: Imports

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which countries are allowed to import hunting trophies to the UK.

Zac Goldsmith: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permit system allows trade in hunting trophies of listed species, from any country party to CITES, only when it is satisfied that the export will not be harmful to the survival of the species. Import suspensions are in place for countries where hunting of certain species is considered unsustainable.

Animal Products: Imports

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce a moratorium on the importation of hunting trophies to the UK.

Zac Goldsmith: Last month we announced that we will be consulting on whether to further restrict the import and export of hunting trophies. We are acting to respond to the public’s concerns and the consultation will be published in due course.

Veterinary Medicines Directorate

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the cost to the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate of taking on regulatory functions currently undertaken by the EU.

Zac Goldsmith: There will be no change to the cost to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) for taking on the regulatory functions currently undertaken by the EU. This is due to the VMD being a full cost recovery agency and these regulatory functions are paid for by the veterinary pharmaceutical industry through the charges made on applications submitted.

Veterinary Medicine: Drugs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the duration of recognition of certifications by a qualified person for batch release of medicinal products for human and veterinary use in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Zac Goldsmith: The unilateral recognition of the results of batch tests carried out in the EU/EEA by the UK will be time limited. We are not currently able to give a definite timeframe because it is closely linked to the wider negotiations. We are aware of the potential impact of this issue on industry and any changes to the unilateral recognition will be communicated as soon as we are able.

Animals: Exports

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the capacity of the veterinary industry to deal with increased demand for Export Health Certificates in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Zac Goldsmith: We recognise there will be an increased demand for Export Health Certificates (EHCs) in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Our aim has been to support the market in meeting likely demand by increasing the number of trained Official Veterinarians (OVs) by providing free certification training. The number of trained OVs has increased from around 600 in February 2019 to more than 1000 currently, there are around 250 who have registered but not yet completed this training. We have been contacting this group, encouraging them to complete the training as soon as possible. In Great Britain, OVs operate in the private sector and over time we would expect the market to match supply and demand. Understanding what this means for certifying capacity is difficult as we cannot know how many hours a week these OVs will spend on certifying exports and to what extent their availability will respond to price incentives. To support Local Authority Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) and Official Veterinarians, we have created a Certification Support Officer (CSO) role and funded training. CSOs will handle a number of preparatory and administrative aspects of EHCs (checking documents, identifying products or sealing containers), freeing up EHO or OV time and capacity to provide the final assurance required. To date, in GB, we have 70 authorised CSOs. EHCs for fish and fish products are primarily certified by Local Authority EHOs and OVs mainly certify EHCs for Animals and Products of Animal Origin (POAO).

Gun Sports: Lead

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of field sports association on reducing the level of use of lead-shot through an increase in the use of steel-shot.

Rebecca Pow: As far as we are aware, Defra Ministers have not had any recent discussions with field sport organisations on reducing the level of use of lead-shot through an increase in the use of steel-shot.

Peat Bogs: Fires

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the burning of (a) blanket bog and (b) the peat soils that blanket bog depends on.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with the European Commission's infraction procedure relating to the EU Habitats Directive on the protection and management of blanket bogs in northern England Special Areas of Conservation.

Rebecca Pow: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government is committed to ceasing rotational burning on blanket bog on European sites. Natural England has been working with landowners/managers to enter into voluntary agreements to cease rotational burning, and surrender extant consents to burn. The Government will set out its further plans to restore and protect peat in the England Peat Strategy.

Home Office

Homicide

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology Note No. 599 on Early interventions to reduce violent crime, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the 46 per cent increase in homicides between 2014 and 2018.

Kit Malthouse: The Serious Violence Strategy published in April last year sets out an analysis of the trends and drivers of rises in serious violence including homicide. The analysis shows that there are a range of factors that have driven these increases and changes in the drugs market are a major factor.The Government is determined to tackle all form of serious violence. This includes supporting the police by recruiting 20,000 new police officers over the next three years and making it easier for them to use stop and search powers and announcing an additional £20 million to tackle county lines, including expanding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre. We are also investing over £220 million into early intervention projects to steer young people away from crime.

Knives: Crime

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Guidance, Anti-knife crime community fund - year 3 (2019-20), last updated on 26 June 2019, when she plans to publish the successful bids for that fund.

Kit Malthouse: Successful bidders were informed of the outcome of this year’s anti-knife crime Community Fund on 14 October 2019. The successful projects will, as in previous years, be published on Gov.uk shortly.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the £3.75 million reserved for her Department's March 2019 marketing campaign for the EU settlement scheme was spent on (a) online and (b) offline advertising.

Brandon Lewis: In March 2019, Home Office launched a £3.75m UK wide marketing campaign encouraging EU citizens to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The campaign ran on out of home media (billboards, stations, roadside), radio, catch up tv, online, and print. The cost breakdown is provided below.Radio and digital audio: £410,000Catch up tv: £1,000,000Online (digital and social): £410,000Print: £180,000Out of home £940,000

Immigration: EU Nationals

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred from Pre-Settled to Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme in each month since 1 January 2019.

Brandon Lewis: The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications concluded for the UK can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme monthly statistics’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-september-2019.The Home Office does not currently publish statistics on EU Settlement Scheme application outcomes where an applicant with pre-settled status applies for settled status, but is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme. Home Office statisticians are currently considering the content of the next quarterly release.

Motor Vehicles: Theft

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the level of vehicle theft in the West Midlands.

Kit Malthouse: To support the fight against crime, West Midlands Police are receiving £568.8m in funding in 2019/20, an increase of £34.4m on 2018/19.The previous Policing Minister chaired a Vehicle Theft Taskforce which brought together the police, the motor industry and others. The Government continues to work with partners to ensure that the response to this crime is as robust as it can be.

Police: Hampshire

Mr Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the change in FTE police numbers in Hampshire (a) in 2019 (b) in subsequent years.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers in each Police Force Area (PFA) in England and Wales in the annual ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.The number of officers in Hampshire in each year from 31 March 2007 to 31 March 2019, by headcount and full-time equivalence (FTE), can be found in open data tables available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817734/open-data-table-police-workforce.odsWe have also announced the allocation of 156 additional officers in Hampshire by the end of 2020/21 as part of the Police Uplift Programme.These new officers will be in addition to those hired to fill existing vacancies and the extra officers already being recruited due to the increase in police funding for 2019-20.

Cabinet Office

*No heading*

Mrs Pauline Latham: What plans he has to move public sector jobs outside London.

Simon Hart: The Government has committed to ensure that more civil service roles and public bodies should be located in the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.The Cabinet Office is co-ordinating this activity through the Places for Growth programme. The Programme has identified over three thousand roles for relocation over a phased timetable.

*No heading*

Patricia Gibson: What steps he is taking to ensure that electoral registers are complete.

Kevin Foster: The electoral registers for the June 2017 general election were the largest ever at 46.8 million people. Online registration has made registering to vote quicker and easier than ever before. Government’s role is to ensure Electoral Registration Officers have the tools needed to maintain complete and accurate registers.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Business: Northern Ireland

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Prime Minister's proposed EU exit deal, what assessment his Department has made of the economic effect on businesses in Northern Ireland of the imposition of checks on both the North-South and East-West border.

James Duddridge: The new Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration, agreed between the UK and the EU on 17 October, protects the economy of Northern Ireland and Ireland by ensuring that all businesses can continue to trade easily across the North-South border without checks or controls at, or near the border.

Industry: Northern Ireland

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Prime Minister's proposed EU exit deal, when his Department last met with representatives of Northern Irish industry to discuss the effect on that industry of the imposition of a North-South and an East-West border.

James Duddridge: The department has engaged extensively with representatives of businesses, industry groups and trade unions from Northern Ireland. This includes through the Government’s Alternative Arrangements Business Advisory Group. Ministers are continuing to engage with representatives from all sectors of the Northern Ireland economy.The Government's revised deal provides a new and unique solution for Northern Ireland – they will continue to be part of the UK Customs Union, but with access to EU markets without a hard border. The Government has made clear commitments to ensure unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to the whole UK internal market.

Erasmus+ Programme

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions have taken place on the UK's continuing participation in Erasmus in the event of the UK leaving the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.

James Duddridge: The Government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training.Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK would continue to take part in current EU programmes, including Erasmus+, for the duration of the transition period. Any participation beyond this would be a matter for upcoming negotiations on our future relationship with the EU. While the regulations for future EU programmes are still in the process of being developed, the Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation of general terms of participation.In the event that the UK leaves the EU with no agreement in place, the Government’s guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK applicants for all successful Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps bids submitted before the end of 2020. This means UK Erasmus+ students already abroad will be able to complete their study placements.

Customs: Northern Ireland

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government on the potential effect of customs checks on trade across the Irish Sea.

James Duddridge: The Government is committed to the close involvement of the Welsh Government as we deliver an EU exit that works in the interests of the whole of the UK. While the UK Government negotiates on behalf of the United Kingdom, we have been clear from the start that the devolved administrations should be engaged throughout the negotiations process.Following the successful agreement of a deal with the EU on 17 October, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster spoke with Jeremy Miles AM, Counsel General and Brexit Minister in the Welsh Government, in detail.The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union spoke to Jeremy Miles, on 2 October to discuss the Prime Minister’s letter to the President of the European Commission regarding the UK Government’s proposals for a new protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.Latest developments were also discussed at the Joint Ministerial Forum (EU Negotiations) on 10 October, where Lord Callanan, Minister of State for Exiting the European Union, attended to discuss the latest developments with the devolved administrations, including Jeremy Miles.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which public appointments he is responsible for.

James Duddridge: The public appointments that the department is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019.https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Energy Supply

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 290330 and to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question 290324, if she will introduce the same policy as the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and switch to an electricity provider that supplies electricity solely from renewable resources within 12 months; and for what reason her Department has not already ensured its electricity is supplied solely from renewable resources.

Conor Burns: All government departments are mandated to use the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Energy frameworks for the supply of gas, electricity and liquid fuels. The CCS competes the frameworks on the open market and selects the energy providers according to a set of award criteria, normally based on price and quality. The current suppliers of each of these services are: EDF (Half-Hourly electricity);British Gas (Non Half-Hourly electricity); The department transferred the facilities management of its main buildings at 3 Whitehall Place and 55 Whitehall Place, London to the Government Property Agency (GPA) in September 2019. The GPA is responsible for the supply of electricity to these sites. Prior to this the Ministry of Justice was responsible for providing facilities management services, including the supply of electricity. The department occupies other properties both in the UK and internationally. The supply of electricity at these sites including the choice of supplier is either the landlord’s or main occupier’s responsibility.

Department for International Trade: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which public appointments she is responsible for.

Conor Burns: The public appointments that the Secretary of State is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019 https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf as below; Export Credits Guarantee Department (UK Export Finance)Export Guarantee Advisory Council Additionally, the Department for International Trade has agreed that the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), when legally established by the Trade Bill, will be listed on the schedule to the next Public Appointments Order in Council. The Secretary of State, will then be responsible for making appointments to the TRA Board consisting of the Chair and Non-Executive Members.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 14 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken to work with partners to develop new models of community funding.

Matt Warman: Access (the Foundation for Social Investment) has launched its 'Local Access' programme together with Big Society Capital. This programme will provide a blend of grant and repayable investment worth at least £33m across five places in England. This includes £15 million of repayable social investment from Big Society Capital (the UK’s social investment wholesaler set up with dormant account money), £8 million of funding from Access’s endowment for enterprise development, and £10million of recently released dormant accounts money for place-based investment. The first round of funding will be released to the chosen five places in early 2020. The objective of the programme is to support the growth of the social economy in local places and in doing so help reduce poverty and inequality.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 14 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what plans her Department has to renew its commitment to the Compact.

Matt Warman: The Civil Society Strategy sets out our vision for government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. The Strategy recognises the importance of government working together with the sector to maintain its health, independence and influence. We are exploring options for renewing the government’s commitment to the principles of the Compact.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 14 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken to work with (a) civil society, (b) the Electoral Commission and (c) the charity commission to explore what non-legislative steps could strengthen civil society’s confidence in speaking out.

Matt Warman: The Civil Society Strategy sets out our vision for the government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. The Strategy recognised the need for the government to work with civil society, the Electoral Commission, and the Charity Commission to develop non-legislative steps to increase the confidence in civil society to speak out. In September, the Electoral Commission released new guidance to clarify rules on charity campaigning spending in the lead up to unscheduled general elections so they could campaign with confidence all year round. The Electoral Commission developed this guidance following engagement with charities, the Charity Commission and government. The new guidance has been welcomed by charities.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken towards convening a cross-government group to work with civil society to establish the principles of effective involvement in the policy-making process.

Matt Warman: The Civil Society Strategy sets out our vision for government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. The Strategy recognised the need to work with civil society and across government to establish principles of effective involvement in the policy-making process. The details of this cross-government group will be set out in due course.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken to establish a regular forum for social enterprises to co-ordinate relations with Government.

Matt Warman: The Civil Society Strategy sets out our vision for government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. The Strategy recognised the demand from the social enterprise sector for a simpler relationship with the government and committed to establishing a regular forum for social enterprises to coordinate relations with government. The details of the forum will be set out in due course.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what progress her Department has made on working with (a) the Charity Commission and (b) UK Community Foundations to release at least £20 million from inactive charitable trusts to help community organisations.

Matt Warman: By the end of March 2019, the Revitalising Trusts Programme, delivered in conjunction with the Charity Commission and UKCF, had released over £11 million worth of funds from dormant charitable trusts, reinvesting this in local communities. This funding will support local good causes across the country. The programme is on track and we expect to reach our target of at least £20 million by the end of March 2020.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what progress her Department has made on working with partners to explore how best to use digital technology to build a stronger and more effective social sector.

Matt Warman: Since the publication of the Civil Society Strategy, DCMS has funded the Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology (CAST), Social Tech Trust, and Nesta Challenges, among other partners, to strengthen the digital resilience of the social sector. Activities range from establishing investment funds through to launching challenge prizes. We have also built the skills and capability of charity leaders by funding 13 training and support providers, through the £1 million Digital Leadership Fund.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, when her Department plans to provide an update on its approach to support for responsible business.

Matt Warman: We will publish a short public update on government’s approach to Responsible Business in the coming months, including an update on the Inclusive Economy Partnership.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken towards establishing a Responsible Business Leadership Group.

Matt Warman: The Department, together with BEIS, has consulted with key stakeholders from business and civil society as a first phase of establishing the Responsible Business Leadership Group. We have also held early conversations with potential candidates for chairs, and are considering membership composition. We are also carefully considering the relationship of the group to other business councils, to ensure that the group is complementary to these. We are also conducting research as input to the group on what specific questions it should seek to answer; and have initiated research into potential engagement with academic institutions. The Secretary of State will be making an announcement on the chairs once they are confirmed.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 16 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken to support the spread of Citizen Commissioners.

Matt Warman: The Civil Society Strategy is a forward-looking long-term strategy. We continue to promote community engagement in commissioning to stakeholders at relevant meetings and events including the Commissioning Academy for public sector decision makers across the country. We have held discussions with organisations involved in Citizen Commissioners schemes to understand success factors and options for the future.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 16 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what progress her Department has made on extending the support offered to public sector teams aspiring to form mutuals to other social sector organisations that wish to deliver public services.

Matt Warman: The Government currently runs a support programme for public service mutuals. Following a series of engagement events, the then Minister for Civil Society launched a public consultation on the future definition of public service mutuals on 19th July 2019. The consultation, which closed on 18th October 2019, included proposals to widen the current definition to include organisations that don’t originate in the public sector and to strengthen and clarify requirements around employee influence, independence, and the distribution of profits. We will be considering responses over the coming months.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 16 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken towards broadening the range of funding options for community initiatives.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 17 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken towards improving the use of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 17 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken towards ensuring that the principles of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 are applied to the whole of government spending and decision-making.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 17 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what progress her Department has made on establishing the potential for the use of social value in grants as well as contracts.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 17 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps her Department has taken on exploring the application of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to other areas of public decision-making.

Matt Warman: As outlined in the Civil Society Strategy, this government is committed to enabling the generation of social value through a range of measures. The Strategy is forward-looking and long-term. Our immediate priority is to expand use of the Social Value Act in central government. Through a joint DCMS and Cabinet Office programme, all major procurements by government departments will explicitly evaluate social value as appropriate, rather than just ‘consider’ it as currently, providing it does not add complexity or cost to the procurement process, restrict markets or exclude small businesses from government contracts. Use of the Act will be extended to goods and works contracts, in addition to those for services and 4000 commercial buyers will be trained on how to take account of social value and procure successfully from a diverse range of organisations. While the programme focuses on central government, the changes will have more of an impact due to the number of supplier markets we have in common with the wider public sector as well as the private sector.

Third Sector

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 16 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what steps the Inclusive Economy Unit has taken to follow up the recommendations from the Advisory Group on growing a culture of social impact investment in the UK.

Matt Warman: In early 2018, the government published its response to the Advisory Group’s report, supporting the range of the recommendations made and focus areas identified. The Prime Minister then commissioned an industry-led Implementation Taskforce to work alongside government to take forward these recommendations. Later in 2018, the Civil Society Strategy set out a series of further commitments to unlock and boost social impact investment. Building on this, DCMS, alongside DfID and City of London Corporation, provided cornerstone funding for the Impact Investing Institute, which will launch in November 2019 and be a focal point for public-private cooperation on accelerating the growth, and improve the effectiveness, of the UK impact investing market.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people participated in the National Citizen Service in each local authority area in Surrey in each of the last three years.

Nicky Morgan: NCS participants by Surrey Local Authority District2015201620172018Elmbridge118145134114Epson and Ewell142142169119Guildford194205235191Mole Valley91105102101Reigate and Banstead179147139189Runnymede63939057Spelthorne11316113680Surrey Heath85135112159Tandridge966481127Waverley115115141151Woking56125147113 Participation numbers for Summer 2019 are undergoing compliance checks and are not yet available.

Cybercrime

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, what discussions officials of her Department has had with representatives of business organisations on funding for IT training to help meet the demand for skills in cyber security.

Matt Warman: Government published the Initial Cyber Security Skills strategy in December 2018. The strategy sets out a range of proposals for addressing the cyber security skills capability gap in the immediate term and developing the building blocks of a pipeline for future talent. The strategy was accompanied by the publication of UK Labour Market Research to better understand the needs of businesses. In producing the strategy, officials engaged extensively with industry, employers, students, and education providers through a range of events, workshops and meetings across the UK. This engagement is ongoing, helping Government effectively work towards its mission of ensuring businesses have access to the cyber security skills they need to secure themselves in a digital economy.

Mass Media: Regulation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce independent regulation of the media to protect individuals from (a) invasive and (b) unethical journalism.

Nigel Adams: We have seen great improvements in press regulation with the formation of IPSO and Impress, which have the power to hold publications to account, including ordering prominent corrections. Both regulators are independent of government and enforce Codes of Practice, which include provisions on privacy and intrusion. They both operate free complaints handling systems and low cost arbitration schemes. Ofcom, as the independent broadcast regulator, sets rules for broadcasters to meet in its Broadcasting Code. This includes rules ensuring that broadcasters avoid any unwarranted infringement of privacy in the making of programmes.

Visual Impairment: Electronic Publishing

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential benefits to (a) partially sighted and (b) blind people of (i) e-readers and (ii) other digital reading materials; and what steps her Department is taking to increase access to those materials.

Matt Warman: The UK Government recognises that, although we live in an increasingly online world, a significant part of the population remains digitally excluded, and as a Government we are actively committed to tackling digital exclusion. In the Digital Strategy, we committed to enabling people in every part of society - irrespective of age, gender, physical ability, ethnicity, health conditions, or socio-economic status - to access the opportunities of the internet. In addition, most public libraries offer the loan of e-books and e-audio books, with some also making available the loan of e-book readers and other technology to enlarge the print. A number of local authorities use their website to communicate the services available to visually impaired people from their libraries. Libraries Connected has developed the Six Steps Promise with the Royal National Institute for the Blind and Share the Vision to ensure libraries can support people with reduced vision. The promise includes:ensuring that all blind and partially sighted customers are connected to the most appropriate service for their reading needs and that they are able to make full use of an accessible public library serviceusing Reading Sight, a free website supporting blind and partially sighted people to access reading and reading servicesproviding local collections of accessible reading materials and information in physical or digital formats, and be able to signpost library users to a wider range of resources

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies her department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.

Nigel Adams: Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics inform Health and Wellbeing policy across the Civil Service. DCMS measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole. The four personal wellbeing questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found here. Findings from the survey are used to inform our HR policies and support services. No new policies have been introduced in the last 12 months, but we have focused on improving the wellbeing support and services available to staff. This includes: Working alongside our Mental Health and Wellbeing Network to ensure that staff with mental health conditions are supported in managing their conditions. The network has a Senior Civil Servant (SCS) champion who supports, advises and represents the Network at a senior level.Increasing the number of Mental Health First Aiders in DCMS from 22 to 32. These champions are trained to provide support and guide people towards appropriate professional help.Using external providers such as the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and the HR Casework team to support employee wellbeing. Our HR Casework offer has extended in the past 12 months and now includes both a dedicated line for managers and an ‘Early Resolution Helpline’ for all employees to discuss work-related issues which may affect wellbeing.Providing a health referral process which establishes the requirement for any adjustments for employees suffering from a mental health or physical condition. Individuals are then directed to the most appropriate provider for support.Launching a Menopause group as part of our Women’s network.Running a series of sessions on wellbeing and resilience in the workplace as part of ‘DCMS Live’, a week of interactive learning which is available to all staff.Redesigning the internal DCMS intranet pages for health and wellbeing to ensure it remains clear and accessible to all.Using induction materials to signpost new starters to the resources available to them to support their wellbeing.Mandating ‘Wellbeing Confident’ training for all SCS (based on the PERMA model using positive psychology techniques) which has equipped senior leaders with tools to have open discussions about mental health and wellbeing within their teams; and delivering team based sessions across the Department to embed this.

Women and Equalities

Employment: Sexual Harassment

Patrick Grady: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a preventative duty on employers to require them to take reasonable, proactive steps to protect workers from sexual harassment and victimisation.

Victoria Atkins: Earlier this year, we consulted on the evidence for a preventative duty on employers. The consultation closed on 2 October and we are currently considering the responses received.